Scientists and Transgenics
by SnowyOwl-17
Summary: Liz Parker has now graduated from Harvard and now she is working for Manticore as one of the Scientists...What will happen when she meets X5494Alec? Challenge by Jezebel JinxVampireQueen21. Challenge link in profile M for Lang. HIATUS UNTIL SCHOOL IS OUT
1. Prologue

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

PROLOGUE

Liz smiled to herself. She had finally done it. After all of the shit she had been though during her high school years and her time in Roswell…she had finally done it. She took a moment to look at the school she had called home for the past five years.

Looking back at the diploma within her grasp, she once again and smiled and whispered to herself, "I did it, Alex. I just wish you could be here to see it." As her eyes welled up with tears she felt an arm wrap around her waist, "He is here to see it, Chica. And I can tell you right now we are both so proud of our Harvard Graduate."

Liz turned to look at Maria De Luca-Guerin, her best friend, "Thanks, Ria."

Maria shook her head, "No thanks needed, Chica. As long as we both followed our dreams, that's all we could have done to truly honor his memory."

The two hugged each other tightly as they got misty eyed thinking about their friend who was there in their hearts, memories and in spirit, "So where are you going, Miss. Harvard-grad-microbiologist?"

Liz laughed and pulled back from the hug, "Wyoming. I'm a new scientist in a DNA Lab. I'm helping other scientists see if there is a way to prevent certain birth defects in fetuses."  
Maria looked at her friend with wide eyes, "Wow! From Roswell to Wyoming…just with a better paycheck! So, when you become the world's next doctor that cures some famous disease, remember that I was there when you wanted to bash your head against the wall as you studied for your Biology Final senior year."

Liz laughed and shook her head, "Yeah, Yeah, not my most shining of moments. But you have no worries, I promise not to forget you. Besides how could I, you know for a fact you are going to call me everyday, even if you have to tell your manager to go shove himself."

Maria thought about it for a moment, but then nodded, "Yeah, you're right." The two laughed and then hugged one more time.

"Thank you, so much, for helping me pack up my stuff last night," Liz said. Maria just waived her off, "Don't even worry about it, Chica. Now remember to call me when you get to Wyoming, yeah?"

Liz nodded, "I will. But you better go…your manager is glaring at us again."

Maria just rolled her eyes, "Don't worry about him. He's just on a power trip because Michael is at home with Isabel, trying to keep Jesse alive while dealing with a very pregnant princess."

Just thinking about it caused Liz to cringe, "Well better Michael than Max. Isabel would probably blow him up."

Maria just laughed, "Yeah, I think he is as high on her shit list as the Gerbil."

The two had one last laugh and then said good-bye. Maria heading back to Roswell, where she and Michael were staying until Isabel gave birth, and Liz to get some last minute things done before she headed off to Wyoming.

Thanks to my Amazing BETA DarkWolfYingFa!!! You're amazing, Thanks so much:-)


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing!!!! Roswell belongs all those you created and worked on it as does Dark Angel.

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

CHAPTER ONE

Liz sighed as she made her way to the Med Lab. On one hand she really no longer wanted this job. She hated that she had unknowingly become a part of another government conspiracy…that technically the government didn't even know about. That was certainly one she had never thought she would have ever heard, and yet here she was. She hated the fact that there was nothing she could do to stop the hell these soldiers were put through. She also knew that if she tried to leave…they would kill her to keep her quiet.

Dying wasn't what she was afraid of…going out with an alien king had rid her of that fear far more quickly than she had ever thought possible. What truly scared her was if she left…the soldiers she helped wouldn't have what little help and compassion she was allowed to show. Over the past few months that she had been here, she had met a few of the soldiers and she knew that they were thankful for what little help she could give them.

So there it was…the other hand that outweighed her need to leave…and it just happened to be her need to help. Michael had always told her that she was too nice for her own good…if only he know how true he was.

Liz put on her smile as she opened the door to the room that had a soldier waiting for her, "Hi there, 494. I'm Liz from the DNA Lab. And I'll be tending to that wound of yours…do you have any questions?" She could tell that he was confused and he had every right to be…most DNA Lab Techs didn't go to the Med Lab. She gave a slight giggle which got his attention, "I was first trained as a medical practitioner and then in Molecular Biology. So every now and then they have me on double duty."

She had read over his file before, so she knew that he was only following 'orders' to not question his 'superiors'. And according to Manticore rules for soldiers, even the doctors were their superiors. She had to admit, he was a good soldier. She had a feeling he would flourish under Michael's command…and maybe one day he could even surpass him…but she knew that stuck in here, she would never get the chance to see him do so.

Despite the depressing thoughts running through her mind, she kept her smile as she put on her rubber gloves, "Alright mister lets get this shirt off and take a look at the injury, shall we?" She had to laugh as he moved to take his shirt off, "Hold it right there, soldier. I know you have a far better healing system than I do, but until I know what your injury consists of, what do you say we try not to make it worse, okay?"

She couldn't help smiling again at his confusion. She moved her hands to the hem of his shirt and gently began take it off of him, while trying her best not to injure him more than he already was, "You can talk, 494. I'm not going to tell anyone that you had an intelligent thought and voiced it. Heaven forbid you do something so human," she couldn't help the sarcasm that poured out of her voice as she thought of Manticore's ridiculous rules.

"You're not like the others," was his first statement as he watched her gently remove his shirt from his bloody injury.

Liz just gave a knowing laugh as she brought up a damp towel to remove some of the dried blood on his shirt, that was holding the shirt to his injury…no need to reopen the scabbed cuts. "Yeah, I've never really been one for rules. My brother-in-law, Michael, used to nearly rip his hair out when we were teenagers," she said with a smile at the thought of General Stickler-for-being-in-charge.

"You're married?" he asked.

Liz chuckled and shook her head, "No, he's married to my best-friend and sister, Maria. I dated Michael's best-friend/brother when we were younger, but I would never want to be married to the man," She kept her focus on his shirt as she finally got the fabric loose from the drying blood and jagged skin of his open injury.

"Is this Michael a rules guy or something?" he asked causing her to look up at him in amusement. She could almost see his desire to roll his eyes at the thought.

She just smiled at him and shook her head as she began to gently clean the blood off of his shoulder, "No, he comes from a long line of military men. His twin brother was a general in the military and his older brother…his much older brother was more or less in charge of an entire army. Rathard, his older brother, followed in their father's foot steps. His twin brother, Brendan, was killed in the line of fire when he and Michael were 17. (A/N: I know that this age sounds unrealistic, however I'm going on the assumption that the Antarian army doesn't have and age limit. So just go with me on this. Also, Brendan is Rath from New York, but if you have any confusion let me know.) She stopped to retrieve another cleansing pad and throw away the used one.

"Vladimir, his father was killed in action before Michael and Brendan were born. Rathard was killed protecting his unit when Michael and Brendan were 12," she began again. "And at 14 Michael's mother lost her battle with a rare form of Cancer. By 15, both Michael and Brendan were in foster homes. Michael wanted to join the army as the men in his family before him had, however, the foster family he was with, refused to allow him to join. – By the time he was old enough to join to do what he wanted, he was dating Maria. She didn't want him gone all the time, so he joined the army to get through college and then he came home and married Ria," she finished with a smile on her face at the memories those stories brought forward.

She had known this story by heart; it was kind of hard to forget when technically Michael WAS Rathard and 'Brendan'. And technically Michael was head of an army…it was just the Antarian Army. Needless to say Maria refused to lose him to two armies.

By now Liz could finally see the actual injury that 494 had sustained, "Well it looks like that bullet is going to have to come out," she said in amusement at his surprised look.

"Bullet?" he asked.

She leant the palms of her hands on the medical bed and looked at him with a big smile, "Yeah, big guy…a bullet. Your adrenaline probably kept you from noticing it and then because of your DNA makeup most of the pain was gone, which probably registered to your brain as a small scratch."

494 sighed and rolled his eyes, "Great, and here I thought this would be the first time I didn't get shot on a mission."

Liz laughed as she grabbed the tongs that would allow her to as gently as possible, pull the bullet out, "You get shot on every mission?" She knew he was watching her work; she could feel those green orbs on her.

"Seems like it," he muttered.

"Well, you're taking this better than I would have. I was shot once in my life, and that by far was enough for me," she said as she frowned in concentration as she found and grasped onto the bullet.

"You were shot?" she could hear the surprise in his voice.

She just nodded, "Yeah. I was 16 and working at my parent's diner. Wrong place at the wrong time…got shot in my abdomen and almost bled to death on my dad's restaurant floor. Not a fun time let me tell you."

She caught him looking at her with a raised eyebrow after she placed the bullet in a kidney dish. She gave him a smile and laughed self-consciously, "What?"

He just smiled and then lifted his left hand and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, "You're like no one else here." Liz blushed and ducked her head slightly as she picked up an alcohol pad to wipe his injury clean.

"Thanks," she said in a whisper and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He smiled wider at her when she saw her look at him. She couldn't help but smile in return.

After cleaning the hole in his shoulder, she looked at him with the smile he knew he was putting there, "You need stitches, big guy."

He smiled and gently grabbed a hold of her wrist, "Can I see where you were shot first?"

Liz smiled widely, "Well I would, but I don't think they'd appreciate me flying you all the way to New Mexico just to show you exactly what tile had my blood on it."

He smiled at her and laughed, "Oh you think you're funny do you?"

Liz laughed, "I'll make a deal with you. You let me stitch and patch you up and I'll show you my scar."

He leaned forward; close enough that she got a front row seat to see the mischief twinkling in his eyes, "You got yourself a deal, smartass," and then he leaned in and pressed a light kiss to her lips.

When he pulled back he had to chuckle at the shocked look on her face. After a moment she finally woke up and smacked his chest lightly, "You're supposed to call a girl pretty or something like that before you kiss them! You don't call her a smartass, you smart aleck!"

He just smiled at her the entire time after that and watched her face as she fixed him up. Finally he felt her placing a gauze patch on his shoulder and then taping it up. She began backing up a bit, but he caught the hem of her shirt, "I thought I got to see this scar of yours?"

She smiled and nodded her head, "Go ahead," He smiled and placed one hand on her hip, pulling her back to him. He gently lifted the bottom of her shirt to look at her abdomen. She knew when he saw it, because the hand on her hip gripped her a little tighter. He looked up at her and into her eyes as the thumb of the hand holding her shirt traced the scar she had gotten when she was 16. And that's how they were for a few moments.

Thanks to my Amazing BETA DarkWolfYingFa!!! You're amazing, Thanks so much:-)


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing!!!

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

CHAPTER TWO

Since the day she had fixed up 494, no one at Manticore had yet to ask her to do double duty in the Med Lab. But a couple times they had passed each other and there was always this smirk on his face that she would just have to smile and roll her eyes at.

Ever since he had kissed her and the look in his eyes when he traced her scar…the smart aleck and his beautiful green orbs had yet to leave her mind or her dreams.

She had once thought that the only eyes she would ever fall into would be those of Max Evans…and yet every night she fell farther and farther into those gorgeous green eyes. Maybe—just maybe she was finding a part of herself that she thought Max Evans had destroyed a long time ago.

The door to the DNA Lab slamming open brought her out of her thoughts. She quickly turned and found Lydecker standing there with a few guards next to him, "Miss. Parker, we are going to be moving you to the upper Labs, with 494.—Are you aware of the rogue X5 that has already killed 5 victims?"

Liz nodded in confusion, "Yes. My records show it is X5-493 from the escaped unit in 2009. What do you need me to do?"

She could have sworn she saw a slightly pleased look on his face, however, it was gone as fast as it…slightly…appeared.

"Well, Miss. Parker, I don't know if you are aware, but 494 and 493 are genetic twins…in every sense of the word," he said stoically.

Liz didn't know what emotion she was supposed to be feeling, but so far she was having an inner battle between shock, concern, worry and dread. She knew that even if they hadn't caught 493 yet…494 was still being tested and put through psyops.

Lydecker interrupted her thoughts, "Miss. Parker, you specialize in microbiology. We still have 493's records and blood samples from when he was a child. I need you to test those against 494."

Liz frowned as she began thinking, "That should work; however, newer samples from 493 would help greatly. I realize that his, 493, DNA wouldn't have changed, but, to put it simply, having him out in the world causes to many unaccounted for variables. I don't know if 493 has been exposed to something or has taken something. I need as much information as I can get to assure that I can either determine that it is or is not genetic."

She watched as Lydecker looked at her for a few moments and then turned to the guards, "Go get what she needs." After the guards left he turned back to her, "We have been a step behind Ben…493…the entire way. It will take some time before we can get you new data and samples."  
They were both silent and staring at the other before Liz finally broke the silence, "Ben?"

Lydecker sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "The 2009 unit was known as unit 2.—they are my kids…as are all these kids here. But there was one special one in unit 2. She was X5-452. She called herself Max. I made her to look like my late wife. She was going to be the daughter that we never had. Also in her unit was X5-493 or Ben and X5-599, Zach. All the kids in unit 2 were like bothers and sisters…but Max, Ben and Zach were always closer. Zach was the Commanding Officer and Ben was the Second in Command."

Liz sat down as she tried to grasp what he was telling her, however, ultimately something didn't make sense, "Sir, if you don't mind me asking…why are you telling me this?" she asked him in confusion.

Lydecker looked at her with a smile, "I've been watching you while you've been here. When you take care of the younger kids you mother them. And with the older ones you befriend them. You show them compassion. —At first I wasn't sure if that was something they should know…but then this thing with Ben happened."

Liz watched as Lydecker stared off into space, "He had turned into a cold blooded killer. I've checked into the background of all his victims. There is no connection between them. In fact most of them were good people."

Lydecker turned to Liz, "What is your impression of 494?"

Surprised, Liz had to this for a moment, "He is a good soldier. He follows orders, and doesn't step out of turn even when he is confused."

Lydecker smirked, "But…"

Liz sighed, "But he and the rest were taught loyalty to their unit. Which is how it should be, however, you have to account for the fact that that loyalty is going to carry over into friendships, relationships and family. It's not just human instinct. Your X5's are part feline…cats are the same way, domestic or otherwise."

Lydecker actually looked interested in what she was saying, "Sir, was there something that happened before unit 2 escaped?"

Lydecker seemed to think about it for a moment, and then nodded, "Yes. Their brother Jack died from a seizer. And the night they escaped it appeared Max was suffering from one as well. Zach was holding her upright and Eva had a gun pointed at me. On of the guards shot and killed her. All I wanted to do was get to Max. –She is my little girl."

Liz couldn't help but sympathize with Lydecker. On some level she didn't want to…but the look on his face…she saw the internal torture he felt. "Sir, you have to think of it from their point of view. Your idea is that you are providing a home, protection and the necessary skills for your children. But to them…they needed to protect their pack. Most likely, Jack's death probably made them think that you thought Jack was defective and therefore expendable. And then Max starts having a seizure…they weren't willing to lose another of their pack. –Animals have a protective nature to them. They probably felt like they failed Jack in their inability to protect him. – They wouldn't want to fail another of their siblings…another of their pack."

She could tell that Lydecker understood what she was saying…after all he was a man of science. However, she was beginning to not understand something as well.

Liz got up and walked over to the stack of files on her desk. When she found the ones she was looking for, she brought them over to Lydecker, "These are some things Renfro has me working on…you might want to take a look."

Lydecker looked confused, but took the files and took a quick glance at them, "Let me make copies of these and then I'll get them back to you."

Liz nodded and watched as Lydecker moved to leave the Lab, "Lydecker…is 494… conscious?"  
Lydecker turned to her and raised an eyebrow, but answered her anyway, "No. Renfro assumed psyops and reindoctrination was the action to be taken and placed him in for extensive doses. I had originally planned for a simple genetics comparison, as I am having you do, and to use the psyops as a last resort if needed. –I had him removed from psyops as soon as I heard he was there…why?"

Liz took a deep breath, "It's that loyalty to the pack thing. When he first wakes up he will most likely associate me with his pack, because I'll be the one 'caring' for him…if he sees or senses the guards, whether he's hurt or not…he'll attack."

Lydecker looked confused and surprised, "You want me to leave you alone with an X5 without guards?"

It was Liz's turn to raise an eyebrow, "You tell me you've been watching me since I've been here, and you expect me to believe you didn't watch me and 494 that day in the Med Lab? In fact I'm guessing that's another reason you picked me over the other DNA techs, to do this."

Lydecker smirked, "You and I are going to get along fabulously, Miss. Parker. –Just make sure you keep taking care of my kids…especially 494."

Liz, again, raised an eyebrow as she watched Lydecker leave with what appeared to be a knowing smirk on his face.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or Roswell…they belong to their creators and those that worked on them and all that good stuff. Basically I know they aren't mine, you know their not mine and the world is as it is…so on with the story!!!

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

CHAPTER 3

Liz raised an eyebrow as she took in the "Lab" that Lydecker was moving her and 494 into. It was an open floor plan…except for the bathroom. To the left was about a 20 by 20 foot area that was the Lab and the rest looked like an open loft.

Liz looked at Lydecker waiting for an explanation. He just gave a slight chuckle, "This was Sandaman's old living quarters. He was the original founder of Manticore. These kids are as much his as they are mine, however, the committee, at the time, had gotten power hungry and decided to make his kids for something more than he had intended.—He's been hiding ever since."

Liz could help but think that Renfro was most likely a perfect example of what the committee had once been like; she was sure that there were probably a few still like that. All she could do was hope that they were fewer and greatly out numbered.

Liz walked over to the lab to investigate, "He knew Microbiology and DNA testing."

Lydecker nodded, "You're the best Manticore has seen since Sandaman himself. –And he would be thrilled to see someone care for his kids as much as he does."

Liz shrugged, "Off the record, I think your X7's are slightly creepy."

Lydecker let out an amused chuckle, "Most do." He turned toward the door at the sound of a knock resonating from outside the doorway. He opened the door and motioned for the guards to carry in the things from Liz's desk in the DNA Lab, some of her personal things from her private quarters as well as a still unconscious 494, on a hospital bed.

Liz knew to put on her 'government' face. "Put my personal things on the couch. Put my Lab stuff on the table, I'll unpack it all myself. And put 494 on the bed, and then you can leave the hospital bed in front of the Lab's Island," she told the guards in her best 'just do it or else' voice. Both her and Lydecker kept a watchful eye on all of them until they were done.

Lydecker nodded, "You're dismissed." The guard s hesitated. One was even brave…or stupid… enough to look back as 494. Noticing this, Lydecker yelled, "You're dismissed!" The guards quickly departed. However, Lydecker noticed two guards take position outside the door. He walked over to them, "What are you two doing here?"

One of them spoke, "Sir, we have orders from Renfro to stand guard."

Then Renfro appeared, "Yes, they do. I noticed you must have forgotten to assign guards. So I took the liberty of creating a schedule myself."

Liz wanted to roll her eyes at how proud of herself Renfro sounded. Renfro reminded her a bit to much of Tess Harding…She hated the woman even more than she already had.

Lydecker glared at Renfro, "Did you check the entire report?" The condescending tone he used caused Renfro to waiver in her confidence, something both Liz and Lydecker caught. "If you had read the entire report you would have noticed that the entire Committee of Manticore decided against guards being posted, and that people without a high enough clearance was not allowed up here!"

Liz watched as Lydecker stepped to Renfro. He toward over her and spoke in a deadly soft voice, "You don't have clearance to be here. –You better watch your step—you're playing on a short leash. Your position here at Manticore does not have half of the rights you seem to think it does. One more wrong step and I'll hand you to the committee."

Liz had to pretend to be preoccupied with one of her files so that she wouldn't burst out laughing. She knew Renfro had never seen Lydecker like this…Daddy was playing today. And today Daddy had a wounded cub that needed protecting.

She looked up just as Lydecker looked at the three standing outside the door, "You are dismissed. And you better call of the guards; because you really don't want me to have to do it for you."

After Lydecker closed the door Liz smiled at him, "How did it feel? Protecting your son like that?" Lydecker smiled and looked over at 494, "It felt really good."

Liz smiled and motioned to the door, "Go on, Daddy. You got work to do. –Don't worry I'll take good care of him."

Lydecker gave her a small smile before reluctantly walking out the door and leaving her alone with 494.

A few hours later Liz had finished unpacking all of the stuff she had brought from her desk in the DNA Lab, as well as the data Lydecker had given her on 493. Her personal items were in the bureau, as well as some extra Manticore fatigues she had requested for 494.

Now having done that she was checking 494's vitals to make sure he was okay. Everything appeared to be in working order…Now it was just a waiting game until he woke up.

She had to smile as she took in the sight of the young man before her. Granted he wasn't much younger than her, he was probably around 20-22 years old. That would only make him between 2-4 years younger than her. Yet, when he was asleep he had this boyish innocence about him. It was rather adorable.

"Are you going to stop looking at me soon? I know I'm gorgeous, but I'm trying to sleep here!" his voice startled her out of her thoughts. She had to laugh at that, "How long have you been awake, Alec?"

He opened his eyes slowly and looked at her in confusion, "Alec?" She just smiled down at him, "I got sick of calling you 494 and I can't go around calling you smart aleck…" she shrugged, "So I decided on Alec…" She became solemn at her next thought, "Plus…sometimes when you truly smile you get this mischievous look in you're eyes that reminds me of my friend Alex."

Alec took her hand into his own and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Alex?"

She gave him a watery smile, "He was mine and Maria's best friend growing up. He was killed when we were 17. He's the reason I am where I am today. By the time he was killed I had more or less given up my dream of going to Harvard and being a scientist…But I wanted to honor his memory…and he always encouraged me to follow my dreams." She let out a strangled laugh, "And here I am a Harvard graduate and a scientist. And I couldn't be happier…" she paused to think about it for a moment. "Well I could be…but for that Renfro would have to be dead," she shrugged slightly.

Alec laughed; but then he got serious, "I don't really know how all of this comforting stuff works out there…but if you need to talk…"

Liz smiled and nodded as he trailed off.

But then he sat up and moved closer to her, "Thank you, for naming me after someone important to you. I kinda like that my name wasn't just randomly picked."

Liz smiled and closed the distance between them and brushed her lips lightly over his. After a moment she pulled back and smiled with unshed tears in her eyes, "You're welcome…and thank you for understanding the importance of the name."

"Now stop stalling and answer the question…How long have you been awake?" she teased to try and lighten the mood.

This time he glared at her, "Since you stuck that damn thermometer in my mouth. I almost chocked to death!"

Liz just smirked and patted him on the shoulder, "Toughen up there, big guy. It was only and itty bitty thermometer for the guy who has better gag reflexes than a new born baby. Besides it wasn't like it was going to kick you ass. –Now, I need a sample of your blood. Then you can take a shower, it's through that door over there and I had Lydecker get you some extra fatigues that you can find in the bottom draw of the bureau."

She could feel his eyes on her as she walked over to the lab area and collect a few things before walking back over to him. She sat on the edge of the bed next to him, slipped on some surgical gloves, tied a piece of rubber tubing around his upper arm, cleaned a spot, on his forearm, and then drew a small test tube full of blood. She then took a piece of gauze, placed it over the pinhole, "Hold this here." She waited until he did and then she removed the rubber tubing.

She smiled at him, "Alright, you're all set. You can take a shower now."

She went to go get up when he gently grabbed her arm. She looked at him and noticed his serious face, "Liz…why is this happening to me? What did I do? What did I do, that made them just one day pull me out of drills and throw me in psyops and reindoctrinization? And now they have a tech from the DNA Lab studying my blood? Lizzie…what did I do?"

Her breath caught in her throat at the desperate tome his voice had taken. They really hadn't told him what was going on…he thought he was being punished.

She removed her gloves and put everything on the floor next to the bed, yet never breaking eye contact. She moved herself more onto the bed and took both of his hands into her own, "You didn't do anything, Alec. You're not being punished, I promise. –Do you remember that unit that escaped in 2009?"

He nodded, "Yeah. But what does that have to do with what is happening to me?"

Liz took a deep breath and cupped one side of his face, "X5-493 is your genetic twin brother. He was one of the 09ers to escape. And recently he has been killing innocent people and tattooing his barcode on the back of their necks. The murders are always the same and extremely brutal. They have been one step behind him the whole way and they are beginning to think they may have to kill him…that he may be beyond help. –They just want to make sure that what ever is causing 493 to do this is not going to happen to you. Renfro was the one who threw you into psyops and reindoctrinization. Lydecker had you pulled out as soon as he found out."

"So I was being punished for something my genetic twin brother, a twin brother they created, did?" she could hear his anger and knew it was justified. "Lydecker isn't going to send you back to psyops or reindoctrinization and Renfro can't either. You're here with me for the next 3-6 months at the least. Lydecker also made sure Renfro didn't have clearance to come up here. From her on out it's just DNA analysis, okay?" she told him calmly, to try and calmly, to try and calm him down.

She noticed his glance toward the entrance. "There are no guards. I specifically asked Lydecker for no guards. He and the committee both agreed that was fine," she reassured him.

He looked back at her. His eyes were still hesitant and filled with uncertainty, "Just you and me?

Liz smiled and nodded. "Just you and me," she whispered before leaning in to give him a soft kiss on the lips. She felt him relax tremendously and then he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. She straightened out her legs and lay down next to him as he held on tight. "Look at my DNA later," he whispered. She just nodded and let him hold her as he lost himself in his thoughts.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing!!!

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

CHAPTER FOUR

It had been just over a month that Liz and Alec had been living in Sandaman's old living quarters. Everything was going smoothly now that Alec was no longer trailing her every move out of boredom.

Liz looked up from her work and smiled slightly as she watched Alec running on the treadmill that they had gotten Lydecker to bring up for him. She had to shake her head in amusement; Alec spent hours on that thing. He would always joke about keeping up his perfect physique…even though she knew he was more or less designed to never be out of shape. But she had to admit, to the voice in her head, which sounded an awful lot like Maria, when it said, 'He was made to be sex on legs.'

However, besides the progress she had made in keeping Alec preoccupied and burning the energy he was used to burning on a daily basis what with drills and all, she was making little to no progress with the genetic makeups of Ben and Alec. She had isolated as many individual genetics that she could find within Alec's DNA. However, Ben's old DNA had either been taken care of poorly or had been purposely destroyed. At this point all options were more or less open.

So now the only option she had, to see if Alec would turn out like Ben, was to compare Alec's DNA with that of a different 'serial killer'. However, that wouldn't prove much of anything since Alec's and Ben's DNA is vastly different from that of her 'new' samples. Now she just needed Lydecker to find Ben and get her a working sample of his DNA.

But, thankfully, so far her smart aleck seemed to be as clean as a whistle. She was honestly beginning to think that Ben's biggest problems were mental or chemical imbalances in his brain and it also may have quite a bit to do with the fact that he escaped. None of the 2009 escapees knew anything of the 'outside' world, when they escaped. And she was beginning to think it took a toll on Ben more than the others. If Ben and Alec were anything alike, then they both just wanted to be good soldiers and didn't take failure well at all.

Just as she was about to store her daily work, her cell phone began ringing. Liz smiled and took off her gloves to answer the phone, knowing fully well that it was Maria, "Hey, Ria!" However, before she finished Ria was screaming loudly over the phone. Liz had to quickly pull the phone away from her ear; then she smirked when she noticed Alec stumble, on the treadmill, and bring his hands to his ears before looking at the phone with mock death in his eyes.

"Honey, I love you, but could you please save my ears," Liz asked Maria when she finally brought her cell phone back to her ear.  
"Sorry, Chica. I'm just so excited…" Maria said happily. Liz had to laugh, she could just picture Maria jumping up and down in excitement,  
"Yes, I can tell. Now are you going to tell me or ruin my ear drums?" Liz chuckled as she began to finish cleaning up her work for the day.

"Isabel had a baby girl!" Maria screamed.

Liz smiled widely, "Really? What is her name?"  
"Aleida Diane Ramerez! And she is as cute as a button!" Maria gushed.  
"Oh! That's so cute! Send me pictures, okay? And tell Isabel and Jesse congratulations for me!"

As the conversation continued…on Maria's end anyway…seeing as how Liz couldn't get a word in edge wise, Liz got more and more suspicious. Maria had always thought babies were cute, but lately she had been extra excited about it. She was about to tease Maria about that fact when there was a knock at the door and Lydecker walked in with and older man.

"Hey, Maria, I have to go, okay? And remember to send me pictures!" she said with a smile, knowing for a fact that Maria was now pouting.  
"Fine, but you owe me girl talk soon! I'll talk to you soon, Chica. I love you, bye," Maria gave in, causing Liz to chuckle.  
"Bye, Maria. I love you, too. Say 'hi' to Mikey for me!" she teased and hung up.

She smiled at the two men. "Hello, I'm Liz Parker," she said as she held out her hand to the man she didn't know.  
He smiled at her and shook her hand, "I have heard many good things about you, Miss. Parker. I am Sandaman."

Liz's eyes widened and she looked over at Lydecker, who chuckled, "Don't worry, Liz. Nothing bad is happening."

Liz relaxed a little and looked over at Alec who was standing rim rod straight. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Lydecker and Sandaman look at him as well. "494 do you think you're ready for a mission?" Lydecker asked.

Liz quickly looked at him with cold, hard eyes, "What kind of mission?"  
Sandaman looked at her in surprise; Lydecker just smirked at her knowingly, "It is just a simple information retrieval mission, Liz. I promise."

Liz shoulders slumped in defeat when she saw the hopeful look in Alec's eyes. She knew he was beginning to feel like a caged animal, "Fine." She sighed, then, once again, turned cold eyes toward Lydecker, "But whoever he has to be…they damn well better know he has a girlfriend!"

Alec looked at her with wide eyes. Then he glanced at Lydecker uncertainly. However, when he saw Lydecker's amusement, his uncertainty turned into confusion.

Before Lydecker could comment on her amusing display, Liz interrupted him once again, "And remember, as far as I can tell, Alec is fine; But I haven't had a chance to look at Ben's DNA, so for the sake of Alec's sanity…if you need someone killed…have someone else do it."

Now it was Lydecker's turn to look surprised. Liz just rolled her eyes and muttered, "Well, if you and your government program weren't such a big secret you wouldn't have to worry about exposure, even though technically the government doesn't even know you exist. I am terrifyingly familiar with the concept of secrecy at all costs."

Liz walked over to Alec and stood on tip toes to kiss him. When she pulled back she gave him her 'girlfriend' look, "You do something stupid…like die…and I'll be your biggest worry…you got me?"  
Alec just smirked and nodded, "Yes, dear."

Liz tried to glare at him but she couldn't help but smirk at him, "Smart aleck." Alec just smiled widely and leaned down to kiss her, when he remembered Lydecker was in the room. He looked over at the two men hesitantly.  
Lydecker just smiled, "You know most soldiers actually kiss their girls before leaving for a mission."

Liz laughed and pulled Alec into a kiss. When they broke apart she ran her fingers through his hair as she looked him in the eyes, "Come home in one piece, okay?"  
Alec nodded and leaned his forehead to hers, "I'll come see you when I come back to report, okay?" Liz nodded and hugged him tightly.

"Alright, baby, go get debriefed," she smiled and gently pushed him toward Lydecker. Alec looked at her uncertainly. She just smiled, "Don't worry about me. I knew what I was getting into when I fell for a soldier…I just didn't know a mission would come this soon."

Lydecker interrupted their moment, "Don't worry son. You're being debriefed today and you still need to learn to play the piano. So you won't be leaving right away. Don't worry, you'll have time to say goodbye to your girl."  
Alec looked at him and nodded and then turned back to Liz, "I'll be back later, okay?" Liz nodded as Lydecker lead Alec out.

Just before Lydecker walked out the door he turned back to Liz, "You're good for him, Liz."

Liz was quiet as she watched Lydecker leave with her boyfriend. She turned when she heard Sandaman clearing his throat. He raised an eyebrow at her, "If you don't mind me asking…How is it that a normal girl, like yourself, finds herself in a relationship with on the most deadly X5's in Manticore history?"

Liz stood her ground and searched Sandaman's eyes, as the two stood with the pregnant pause and deadly silence between them. Liz finally shrugged as she confidently held the man's gaze, "Truly…what is normal? And just because his skills and abilities are deadly doesn't make the man deadly…and make no mistake Mr. Sandaman…Alec is as much a man as any other walking this green Earth," She walked over to him with a smirk on her face and in her eyes, "And myself…well…lets just say I'm…special."

Sandaman smiled at the young woman standing before him, "Come, Miss. Parker. There is someone I would like you to meet."  
Liz raised an eyebrow as Sandaman motioned for her to follow him, "I thought the committee had you running for your life?"

He turned to her with a smirk on his face, "I have my ways, Miss. Parker. Now come with me, and as we walk you can tell me all about your relationship with…Alec?"

She nodded to confirm that he had gotten Alec's name right. But then she frowned, "What business is it of yours about my relationship with Alec?"

He smirked as they walked down the hall, "My dear, Alec is as much my son as he is Lydecker's…if not more. I have never wanted for my children half of the things the committee has put them through and from what Lydecker tells me about you…the three of us share similar beliefs about what has been happening over the past few years."

Sandaman stopped and turned toward Liz, so as to look her in the eyes. Liz noticed how serious Sandaman was and got a little nervous. "I was hoping you would help Lydecker and myself improve Manticore to what I had once hoped it would be…and not what it has become."

"If you don't mind me asking…what did you want Manticore to be?" she asked curiously.

Sandaman smiled lightly, "I first started Manticore to create a group that would be able to take on a group called the familiars…And it would appear I have that…now I just want these kids to be who they are and not be outsiders in the world."

Liz smiled and nodded, "I think I may know just the thing…but for now…let's go see this person you want me to meet."

Sandaman nodded and the two began walking. A few moments later Sandaman asked, "So when did you and Alec begin your relationship?"

Liz laughed a bit and smiled at Sandaman before she began her story.

_Flashback _

_Liz was sitting on the couch going over some files while Alec was in the shower. She had not only been looking at the near useless samples of Ben's DNA, but she had also been going over and comparing early medical histories and things of that nature, of both Alec and Ben. _

_She didn't notice Alec come out of the shower until he sat on the couch next to her…in nothing but a towel. He leaned forward and took the papers out of her hands and set them on the coffee table, "Come on, Lizzie, all work and no play make for a boring day." _

_She mock glared at him. She had gotten used to him walking around in nothing but a towel after his showers. Although, she really wasn't about to complain, it had been a while since she had seen such a gorgeous guy shirtless…up close anyway. _

_Alec just smirked and began placing kisses on her shoulder and then her neck. _

_They had been living together for the past two and a half weeks and during that time they had gotten to know each other well. He knew she hadn't been with anyone in a while and that her college boyfriend had cheated on her…He had nearly destroyed the apartment during that particular conversation. _

_And she learned that despite having a few friends within his unit…he often felt alone. She also knew that had Manticore encouraged dating…he could have his pick of X5…or any other X series…females. The thought that Alec might one day decide he wanted to be with another transgenic rather than her unsettled her stomach quite a bit. _

_She closed her eyes and enjoyed his kisses. They hadn't gone any further than making out and she knew they wouldn't now either. She moaned and brought her lips to his. She could feel him smile into the kiss before licking her bottom lip with his tongue. _

_She opened for him and began to enjoy the taste of Alec. They eventually pulled back to breathe. They smiled at one another and Alec traced Liz's jaw line to giver her time to catch her breath, he smiled thinking about how he doubted that this was what Manticore had in mind when they trained him and the others to hold their breath for long periods of time. (A/N: A good portion of this sentence was thought up by my BETA DarkWolfYingFa! Your the best!) _

_Alec leaned his forehead against hers and looked down as he intertwined their fingers. He looked back at her and Liz could see his hesitation in his eyes. At that moment he was vulnerable. "Lizzie…" he whispered slightly, "I know I'm not the ideal guy for a normal girl, what with living in a secret government facility and having animal DNA and all…But I really like you. I've liked you since that day in the Med Lab, I…I just didn't know that that was what I was feeling... I have never felt anything like this before. – And if you're okay…" _

_Alec began to ramble nervously. Liz couldn't help but smile with unshed tears in her eyes. She had an idea how hard this was for him. She brought up her hand to his face and placed a finger on his lips, "Alec…are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" _

_He swallowed thickly and nodded. Liz's smile widened and she let a tear fall, "I would love to be your girlfriend." Alec let out a relieved sigh and smiled widely. _

_Liz took both her arms and wrapped them around his neck and moved to straddle him, "Who says I like normal, anyway?" _

_Alec just smiled, pulled her into a kiss and held her tight. _

_End Flashback _

Sandaman smiled as Liz finished her story with a far away look in her eyes. He didn't know what it was about Elizabeth Parker…But she was something special, and he was looking forward to getting to know her better.

tbc...


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel and I don't own Roswell...they belong to their creators and those who worked on them and all that good stuff. Basically, I know they aren't mine, you know they aren't mine and the world is as it is...on with the story!!!

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

CHAPTER FIVE

Liz glanced at Sandaman a couple times as he led her down a dark hallway. She gasped and felt tears come to her eyes when she saw the caged and undernourished 'animals'. "Why are they locked up?" she asked with an unsteady voice.

Sandaman sighed sadly, "Those ones are the X2's and X3's, barley any of them still exist anymore. They are more animal than human. They don't speak and they act like the animal they are.—As far as we know the X3's can understand what we are saying, however, the X2's cannot. Those ones over there are the X4's. The majority of their traits are human except for their outward appearance. Before I had to go into hiding they all had the run of this floor…"

"You know we're standing right here and can hear you, asshole!" the one that looked like a lizard said.

Sandaman chuckled, "That would be Mole. He always has had a colorful personality."

Liz raised an eyebrow and thought to herself, 'Reminds me of someone I used to know,' as an image of Ava popped into her head.

"What about the original X's?" Liz asked curiously.

Sandaman smiled, "There are only two X1's, but I call them my boys. They are this way."

Liz followed Sandaman down the stairs when she heard, "Father?" She watched as Sandaman smiled affectionately.

"Yes, Joshua. There is someone I want you to meet."

Liz watched as the large shadow of a man appeared out of the darkness and tried to hide his face, but she could see…the poor guy had too much K9 DNA in him. She smiled at him and held out her hand, "Hi there, Big Guy. I'm Liz."

Joshua slowly reached for her hand and held it. "L-Liz s-special?" he asked roughly.

She laughed and nodded, "Yeah, Josh. In some ways I'm special."

Joshua sniffed the air, "Cat?"

Liz chuckled, "No. The cat is my boyfriend. He has cat in his cocktail, as he likes to call it."

Joshua leaned his head to the side, "What's in Liz's cocktail?"

This caused Liz to frown. She knew she had Alien in her cocktail now, but technically Antarian powers were ultimately highly evolved human powers…so what exactly did that make her and the others? She looked Joshua in the eye, "You know what, Josh…I don't know. I really don't know."

No one said anything for a moment and then they all heard whimpering. "Isaac!" Sandaman yelled in concern. Liz noticed Joshua look scared as Sandaman ran off to Isaac.

She walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm, "Hey, big guy what's wrong?"

He looked at her sadly, "Joshua try to protect Isaac. Try to be good big brother…but they locked me away from him."

Liz wanted so badly to comfort the gentle giant, in front of her, "Come on, big guy. Show me Isaac. I won't hurt him, I promise." Joshua agreed, but reluctantly and when they got to Isaac and Sandaman...Sandaman was crying along with his son as he rocked him back and forth. When Sandaman didn't say anything she looked at Joshua.

"Isaac sad father had to go. When he wouldn't stop crying they cut out Isaac's tongue to make him stop," he said angrily.

Liz knew she had to try. No one deserved that, especially not the poor guy in front of her.

She slowly walked over to father and son and let Isaac smell her to prove she wasn't a threat. She smiled at Isaac when he looked at her, "Hey there, tough guy. I know you probably think that there is no way for me to help you…But will you let me try?"

She waited and let Isaac study her to his heart's content and rewarded him with a large smile when he nodded yes. She gently brought her hand to his head and smoothed back his hair that was damp from falling into his tears, "I want you to look into my eyes and don't look away, okay?"

It took less time for him to respond this time, which let her know that she was going to have to leave the connection open both ways, so that he would know that he could trust her. With that thought she opened the connection between them and felt around for his damaged appendage. She tried her best to ignore the scene's of his life, that made her want to kill the guards, and put all her energy into finding some way to 'heal' his tongue.

When she was done, she gently broke the connection so as not to scare him. She was extremely weak from the energy she had used. Before her world went black she saw Isaac turn to Sandaman and say, "F-f-at-th-er?"

'It had worked,' was her thought as she watched everything fade out.

Liz groaned as she began to wake up. The room she was in seemed so bright, which caused the pulsing pain in her head to worsen. She felt people around her and heard them talking to her, but her head and her pain was taking center stage at the moment. She winced when she tried to sit up, "Aspirin!"

She felt someone help her move back to sit back against the headboard. Then she felt a glass of water being placed in her hand and as aspirin at her lips. She opened her mouth to take the aspirin and then slowly and carefully brought her glass of water to her lips and swallowed heavily.

She plopped back heavily and sighed, "Fuck that hurt!"

"Baby, are you okay?" She heard Alec ask. She reached out toward his voice and felt him grasp her hand.

"Can we turn the lights out?" she asked quietly.

"Okay, they're out, Lizzie," she heard Lydecker say after a moment. Liz slowly opened her eyes and tried to relax a bit.

She sighed and found Alec, Lydecker, Sandaman, Isaac and Joshua standing around her in concern, "How long have I been out?"

Alec leaned over and smoothed her hair lovingly, "Baby, you've been out for three days," he said in concern.

"Huh. Never realized that had such a kick to it," she groaned.

"Little guy okay?" Joshua asked her.

Liz smiled at him, "Yeah, I'm good big guy." Then she looked over at Isaac, "How about you, tough guy? How are you feeling?"

Isaac sat down next to her and held her hand, "Isaac want to thank…little tough guy."

Liz smiled at him and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, "Don't worry about it, tough guy. I'm just glad I could help."

Sandaman placed a hand on her foot, which caused her to look him in the eyes. "Thank you, Liz, for what you did for Isaac.—I don't know how you did it, but I am forever in your debt," he told her seriously.

Liz shook her head,"You owe me nothing. If I ever see the guards who did that to him I will kill them myself. –Just do your best to find out who ordered the guards to do such a thing and I'll consider us even," she said in the most deadly tone any of them had heard come from her.

"Liz if you don't mind me asking …how did you do what you did," Lydecker asked curiously.

Liz just looked at him for an extended moment in complete silence, "If I tell you…the information I give you does not leave this room or those in this room." She waited until the five of them agreed.

Liz looked at Alec, "Do you remember the day you looked at the scar on my abdomen that caused me to almost bleed to death on my father's restaurant floor?"

Alec nodded in confusion, "What does that have to do with what you did for Isaac."

She looked at the others, "An alien/human hybrid had the ability to heal me." Liz gave them all her stern look that told them she was deadly serious, "I will not reveal who this person was and if you look into it or try to find this person I will do something you won't like!"

Lydecker help up both hands and motioned for her to calm down, "It's alright, Lizzie. No one who would even think about doing what you are thinking is in this room."

Liz glared, "Then you better mean Renfro will NEVER find out!" Both Lydecker and Sandaman nodded.

Liz sighed and closed her eyes; she slowly opened her eyes as she began speaking, "As I was saying, this human/alien hybrid healed me. –However, what we didn't know was that by healing me he transferred or changed something within me that gave me similar or the same abilities."

She looked over at Isaac and gently squeezed his hand, "I'm sorry Isaac. But I cannot guess whether or not you will develop abilities. I can only expect what happened to me. However, I'm not an alien/human hybrid. My blood cells look the same as human blood cells, where as his did not. So therefore I don't know what will happen. The only thing we can do is keep a watch out for any changes that occur in you."

Isaac squeezed her hand, "Even with abilities, Isaac wouldn't have been able to talk. Thank you." Liz knew what he meant and his easy acceptance of the situation brought tears to her eyes. She had been in his position once, and she hadn't handled it as well as he was. Although, that may have had something to do with the fact that he had probably seen her entire life through the connection she had made when healing him.

She pulled both of her hands free and pulled Isaac into a tight hug, which she knew surprised him; "You will always have me as your sister. That I promise you Isaac."

Isaac pulled back with hope in his eyes, "Isaac have father, brother and sister?"

Liz laughed and happily nodded, "Yes. You will always be my 'tough guy' brother and Joshua will always be my 'big guy' brother." Both Joshua and Isaac looked like kids on Christmas; then Joshua walked over to join the hug. Liz just laughed and smiled happily as she hugged both of her brothers.

"Liz, little guy," Joshua said and then looked at Alec, "Alec, medium guy."

Isaac looked at Joshua in confusion, "Alec?"

Joshua nodded and pointed at Alec, "Alec have cat in his cocktail…"

Isaac looked over at Alec and sniffed the air. At Isaac's growl, Alec backed up and held his hands out.

"Hey! Whoa! Hold it! It's not like I asked to be part cat! So don't go taking it out on me or anything!"

Liz had to giggle at Alec's predicament, which just caused him to glare at her.

Joshua shook his head and turned Isaac to look at him, "No! Alec is Liz's boyfriend. Alec have cat in his cocktail."

Alec raised his eyebrow at that, "And he would associate Liz's boyfriend with smelling like a cat because…"

Liz laughed, "Because when he met me he smelled cat and thought it was me. So I told him my boyfriend had cat in his cocktail."

Alec then rolled his eye before looking at Joshua, "Well, please remember that all the guys that smell like a cat are not all Liz's boyfriend."

Joshua shook his head, "Other cats don't smell like Liz."

Alec got a smug look on his face, "Really?" At that Liz leaned over and smacked Alec upside the head.

Alec looked at her incredulously, "What the hell was that for?"

Liz rolled her eyes, "To deflate that male ego of yours. It was becoming quite difficult to breathe in here."

Alec began pouting, "You're a mean girlfriend."

Liz couldn't believe how he could go from a twenty year old guy to a five year old kid in two seconds flat. She just leaned over and kissed him before smirking, "And yet you're my boyfriend, so what does that say about you?"

Alec mock glared at her, "That I'm a glutton for punishment, obviously."

At his sarcasm Liz raised an eyebrow, "I do have the ability to make you sleep on the couch."

Alec shut up so quickly after that that Lydecker and Sandaman could no longer hold back and burst out laughing; while Joshua and Isaac were just smiling.

Thanks muchly to my BETA DarkWolfYingFa your the best!!!


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing!!

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

CHAPTER SIX

Liz smiled as she felt pride in Alec flood her. She couldn't help it. She was sitting next to him on the piano bench as he continued to play the most beautiful music she had ever heard; she had been listening to him play every now and then, but now it was just the two of them.

Four days ago her man couldn't play any of these fabulous works of art and now here he was…an expert…playing Mozart, Schumann, Beethoven and many more. Not to mention the look of concentration as he played was the most adorable thing she had seen in a long time.

As he finished playing he looked at her uncertainly just in time to see a tear fall down her face. It hadn't been Mozart or Schumann that he had played for her… "Where did you hear that?" she asked him curiously.

He shrugged, "When they were training me how to play they took me to a music store to look at music books of newer music, so that my cover wouldn't be completely unbelievable, and the song was playing over the store's speakers."

Liz leaned over and captured his lips in a kiss; she poured everything she felt into that kiss. When she pulled back she had tears streaming down her face, "I loved it, Alec. And I love you, too."

Alec smiled then leaned back and pressed the play button on the stereo behind him and the music he had just been playing came through the speakers.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a wide smile on his face.

She nodded and stood up. She fit in closely to him, tucking her head under his chin and laying her hand over his heart as the words to Kelly Clarkson's 'Before Your Love' wrapped themselves around her and Alec.

_I wonder how I ever made it through a day  
How did I settle for the world in shades of gray  
When you go in circles all the scenery looks the same  
And you don't know why  
And I looked into your eyes  
Where the road stretched out in front of me  
_

_And I realized  
I'd never lived  
Before your love  
I'd never felt  
Before your touch  
And I'd never needed anyone  
To make me feel alive  
But then again,  
I wasn't really livin'  
_

_I'd never lived…  
Before your love  
_

_I wanted more than just an ordinary life  
All of my dreams, seemed like castles in the sky  
I stand before you and my heart is in your hands  
And I don't know how  
I'd survive without your kiss  
Cuz you've given me  
A reason to exist  
_

_I'd never lived  
Before your love  
I'd never felt  
Before your touch  
I'd never needed anyone  
To make me feel alive  
But then again,  
I wasn't really livin'  
_

_I'd never lived…Before your love  
I'd never lived…Before your love  
_

_And I don't know why  
Why the sun decides to shine  
But you've breathed your love into me just in time  
I'd never lived  
Before your love  
I'd never felt  
Before your touch  
I'd never needed anyone  
To make me feel alive  
But then again,  
I wasn't really livin'  
_

_I'd never lived  
I'd never lived  
Before!...  
Your!!...  
Love!!!...  
_

When the song ended she looked up at him and saw love shining brightly in his eyes, "I love you, so much, Alec."

He smiled and lent his forehead on to hers, "I love you, too. –I was completely confused about how much I felt for you and then I heard the song and it kinda fit. You know, with me being in Manticore and all. You came into Manticore's crazy picture," he smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "and turned everything I ever thought I knew upside down."

Liz laughed through her tears. The man in front of her was always sarcastic and a smart ass…but he loved so deeply…he felt so deeply and so beautifully…that she couldn't help but love him all the more.

"We have a song," she said giddily.

He looked a little confused at the concept; she giggled before she began explaining, "Couples usually have that one song that means something special and it becomes their song."

Alec smiled in understanding, "I like that tradition."

He lifted his hand and wiped away the trails of tears staining her face and then leaned down to kiss her again.

Liz wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close to her. Her man was leaving tomorrow and she didn't want to let go of him. When the need for breathing became necessary for Liz, Alec pulled back and once again leaned his forehead upon hers.

Alec smirked and looked at her mischievously, "So my girlfriend has alien in her cocktail?"

She couldn't help it; the way he said it just made her laugh. They hadn't talked about it yet, but he hadn't been acting any differently since finding out what made her different, "I told you…normal isn't really my thing…and that goes for me too, not just my boyfriend."

She watched as his smile made its way all the way up to his eyes, "Let me just clean up and we'll get back to the apartment, okay?"

Liz just smiled and nodded.

She knew he was probably more open minded about her differences, especially considering he was a Manticore made hybrid of sorts…but that hadn't stopped her worst fears from playing through her mind. However, every move he made was slowly eradicated all of her doubts. He truly was the most amazing man she had ever met and she was 'gone off the deep end' in love with him.

She stood there watching him as he closed up the baby grand piano, collected the CD and put it into his cargo pants pocket, then turned off the stereo. He then came over and took her hand and lead her out of the room while turning the lights off.

Liz cuddled into his side as they walked back to their apartment. His training room had been right down the hall from their apartment, which meant it was still within the clearance zone so Renfro, who was still walking around, being her bitchy self, wouldn't have the opportunity to cause any trouble.

"We are moving to the Seattle location after you leave tomorrow," she said quietly.

Alec shrugged, "That just means that when I come back to report, I'll get to see you longer."

Liz sighed, "I know, but, I'm still going to miss our apartment. What if the facility, in Seattle, doesn't have an apartment?"

Alec leaned down and kissed the crown of her head, "We'll figure it out, baby."

She nodded as he opened the door to their apartment.

They were just sitting on the couch enjoying each others touch, company and the glow of the fire place, when Alec broke the silence.

"I know this probably isn't how you want to spend this night, but…Michael's brother, the one you dated in high school, he's the one who healed you wasn't he?" he asked curiously and quietly.

Liz was still for a moment before nodding as her head rested on his chest. She intertwined their fingers before she spoke, "Max was adopted with his sister Isabel when they were about six years old. Michael wasn't found by the Evans family; he was put into State care and was later adopted by the Guerin's. Michael wasn't really Max and Isabel's brother…but they thought of each other that way. –According to…everyone…Max was in love with me the moment he saw me, but to shy to do anything about it. Plus, he wasn't sure I would accept who he was; but that day in the Crashdown…he said he couldn't let me die."

Alec was quiet and let her talk.

"I was grateful to be alive…but after being apart of Manticore and your life…I can see why Michael was so upset when Max decided to tell me his human/alien hybrid secret," she said softly.

Alec looked into the fire place as pieces began falling into place, "Michael and Isabel were or are human/alien hybrids as well…inadvertent exposure."

Liz just nodded, "I don't think I ever truly grasped what Isabel and Michael felt when Max took their choices into his own hands and out of their own. One life is not worth the inadvertent exposure of three, which would ultimately lead to the unprecedented interruptions and destruction of the lives of those they loved and knew."

Alec tightened his right arm around her waist in a protective manor, "If you don't mind me asking…remember when you said you would never want to be married to him…why not?"  
Liz was silent for an extended amount of time before she whispered one word…one name, "Alex."

Alec frowned in confusion and moved his head to look her in the eye, "Huh?"

Liz climbed out of his arms and off of the couch. She walked over to the window and stared out at the night sky for a minute or two before she began to tell the story of when she was hurt the most in her life.

"There was a fourth. Her name was Tess…and she was more or less Max's wife. Back on his home planet Max was King and Tess…Queen. –One day Max came back from fourteen years in the future and told me to make his younger self fall out of love with me, to save Michael, Isabel and…the rest of the world," her voice was distant and Alec knew she wouldn't hear him if he said anything.

"To make a long, agonizing story short…I pretended to sleep with my ex-boyfriend, Kyle. I had to push him toward Tess. –He took me to prom. We had become friends at that point and agreed to go with each other and I was falling for him all over again. – He kissed her that night…at prom. He even lost his virginity to her that night," she took a shaky breath and turned her gaze to her boyfriend.

"He got her pregnant…the heir to the throne."

Alec wanted to kill the asshole for hurting Liz this way. But he reigned in his emotions to let her finish.

"Anyway, she had been mind warping Alex, to get him to translate the destiny book. He would have done it if she had asked," she hiccupped.

"He started to remember, but she had mind warped him to much…there was nothing left for her to warp…but she tried anyway. – Then she mind warped Kyle into thinking my best friend's dead body was a bag of fucking luggage," she was yelling in anger.

"She tried to make it look like he committed suicide! He didn't believe me when I said Alex wouldn't do that! Because I wanted to prove Alex had been murdered and give his parents some kind of closure. I was the bad guy!" she sobbed.

"He believed her! The woman who tricked him into fulfilling some fucked up deal made forty years before that, by getting pregnant! The bitch who murdered my best friend! He believed her over me! – I would have died for him, Alec…and he believed her. He turned the rest of my friends against me, except for Kyle, and acted like the only ones who mattered were him and Tess! Fuck the fact that Alex's parents were in agony thinking their ONLY child killed himself," she sobbed and fell to the floor.

Alec was next to her and holding her close within a millisecond.

"She took Alex from the world…and he let her live because she was the mother or his child. – Even after Zan was born. – In the end she sacrificed herself…but he wouldn't let anyone make her pay for killing Alex because his son needed a mother. – On some level I understand why he did that; I know she didn't mean to kill Alex, but she did. I know Zan needed a mother and that she loved her son despite everything else she was…but this selfish part of me wanted her dead…so badly. – He brings out the worst in me, Alec," she whispered the last part.

Alec closed his eyes and tried to calm down. He wanted to make those two pay…but he knew then he would be no better than Tess. But he vowed then and there, that Max would never hurt Liz again.

He picked her up and carried her over to their bed and just held her in his arms. He could hear as her body began to shut down as she fell asleep.

"Promise me I'll be able to give you a family someday, Alec," she whispered in a sleep filled voice.

Alec smiled knowing her mind had unconsciously caused her to ask him of that. He kissed her temple and whispered in her ear, "I would love nothing more than to have a family with you one day, Elizabeth Claudia Parker."

She then snuggled into him some more and let the last bits of sleep overtake her. Alec smiled and followed soon after.

TBC...

Thanks to my amazing BETA DarkWolfYingFa!!!


	8. Chapter 7

Scientists and Transgenics

Chapter Seven

Alec woke up about two hours after having fallen asleep at Liz's side. He looked at the still sleeping form of his girlfriend and slipped a piece of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear.

He wanted to go on a mission so badly…but he didn't want to leave her here all by herself. He knew that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but he didn't want anything to happen to her. She was quickly becoming everything to him.

He gently removed himself from their bed as a thought came to him. He stopped moving when she stirred, but smiled when she curled into herself more and buried her nose into the spot where his head had been resting on the pillow. She was burying herself into his scent.

Oh yeah, this slip of a woman with a heart of gold had not only stolen his heart, but had opened it up and buried herself into it forever. He leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead before heading out of the apartment.

He nodded at the guard as he began to pass him at the end of the stairwell, which separated the floor he and Liz where living on with the rest of Manticore. Then he stopped and looked the guy in the eye, with a promise of death in his own, "Anything happens to her while I'm gone and I will personally make sure you suffer…are we clear?"

He watched the guard nod in fear. Alec then smirked in that charming but lethal way, "Good."

He then once again began walking toward his destination. Soon enough he found himself in front of the familiar cell of his SIC. He opened the little window in the door and hissed, "Hey, jerk wad! Wake up and let me in!"

He saw his…well…he guessed he could consider his SIC to be his best friend…anyway he watched his SIC shoot up in surprise, "494?"

Alec rolled his eyes and shook his head, "No, moron, I'm 497! Yes it's me now open the damn door!"

The habitant got up and pulled out a tool to jimmy the door open from the inside, and then let Alec in while rolling his eyes and then glaring at him, "If you were 497…" he smirked in a leering way, "You wouldn't be standing right now."

Alec rolled his eyes and pushed his way past 532.

"I'm so glad I came all this way to find out you have finally admitted to your sexual escaped with the only female you've been lusting after for…ever," he said sarcastically.

532 frowned as he closed the cell door and turned toward his CO, "494…"

Alec interrupted him, "Alec."

532 looked at him in even more confusion, "What?"

Alec smirked, "Alec. It's my name. Maybe you should have one too…how about…Biggs…you've got a bigger ego than I do sometimes."

532 snorted, "Yeah. Keep telling yourself that."

However, the 532 (the 532? 532 smirked) smirked, once again falling back into the normal comradery that had always had, "But if you believe that, then something else of mine must be bigger than yours to (too)."

Alec rolled his eyes and snorted, "Sure, Biggs. Whatever helps you sleep at night. Listen, I need to ask you a favor."

Biggs once again looked at Alec in confusion, "4…Alec, what the hell is going on? You've been gone for like three months after being _dragged_ away by bodyguards and you never said anything about a mission! And now you show up, out of no where, with a **NAME**, asking for a favor, no explanation, and…" he stalled and sniffed the air as his eyes widened, "You smell like a female…but not a transgenic female!"

Alec sighed and ran his hands through his hair, "Look Renfro had me in psyops for something another transgenic did…he just happened to be my genetic twin. Then Lydecker had me living with one of the scientists to do DNA analysis."

Then he took a deep breath, knowing that the next part would shock Biggs to no end, "Her name is Liz and… I plan on taking her as my mate."

Biggs' eyes widened, "What! ---Alec, 623 has been after your affections for years now!"

Alec sighed and rolled his eyes, "Yeah, and if you listen to her all she sees in me is an Alpha! Granted, great boost to my ego…but Liz is with me because she wants _me._ I know she loves my body and my arrogance on some level…but she doesn't look at just the fact that I'm an Alpha male…and yet my ego still benefits…and sometimes gets wounded, but she's more than worth it."

Biggs sighed and sat down on his bed, "Man, you know the unit isn't going to take this well. It's like mating outside the pack!"

Alec rolled his eyes, "Which eventually would have lead to inbreeding."

Biggs sighed knowing that by Alec's attitude he wasn't going to win, he would also be getting answers from Alec at a later date, "What do you need, man?"

"I'm leaving for a mission in the morning and I want you to keep a look out on Liz for me. Manticore is being moved to Seattle after I leave, and you'll probably be able to smell me on her," he said matter-of-factly.

Biggs nodded, not even bothering to ask how Alec knew all this. Alec had always had his ways, "You want me to try and get the Unit to accept her somewhat, as well?"

Alec nodded, "Yeah, but keep a close eye on her afterwards, you never know what one of the more…territorial…females might do to her."

Biggs nodded in agreement, "Alright, I'll keep an eye on her. How long is your mission?"

Alec shook his head, "I don't know, yet. It will depend on how much information they need me to retrieve. – I've got to go, Biggs. She probably has woken up by now."

Biggs nodded and the two stood up, "Alright, we'll talk later about this genetic twin thing of yours. And take care of yourself on your mission."

"Thanks, man. And you know me. I'm always alright," he smirked and walked out of the cell leaving a baffled Biggs behind. There was definitely something he had never seen in Alec before and as of that moment he didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

As Alec made his way down the familiar hallways that had habited him just over three months ago, a voice stopped him, "Hey, there."

Alec sighed and turned around to 623, the Alpha female of his unit.

"623, get back to bed, you have an early wake up and you don't have shark in your cocktail," he said in his CO voice.

The redhead raised an eyebrow with a smirk on her face, "I heard you tell 532 you were going on a mission tomorrow…aren't you going to stay for a send off?"

Alec raised an eyebrow, "Do I smell like I want a send off?"

623's smile faltered a bit, "Come on, 494."

She walked up to him, "You've never turned down a send off before."

Alec grabbed her wrists as she reached up for him, "623, when have I ever taken a send off from you? –I think you're beginning to confuse me with 532."

That caused 623's smile to fall completely and turn an angry gaze at him, "You're the Alpha male and I'm the Alpha female we're supposed to be together! Not you and some…weak scientist!"

Alec growled and glared at her and moved to be nose to nose with her, "She is far from weak! And she is just as Alpha in her own right! – You are in my pack 623, but you degrade my mate again and there will not be a place to hide that will keep you safe. You may be Alpha female but I still out rank you in both military regulation and pack law!"

623's eyes widened in fear. She had never seen 494 act this way and he truly had never pulled rank on her in such a way before. She knew that as Alpha he out ranked her by a few ranks and if she challenged it in any way…she wouldn't win.

"You are apart of my pack 623, but don't push it!" he said before giving her one last warning with his eyes and walking away.

As Alec made his way back to his apartment he ran into a frantic Liz. He gently grabbed both of her upper arms and looked at her in concern, "Baby, what's wrong?"

Liz looked up at him with relief in her eyes, "Alec!"

She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.

Alec held her tight and ran a hand up and down her back and asked soothingly, "Baby, are you okay? What's wrong?"

Liz buried her face into his neck, "You weren't there when I woke up and then I felt you get really angry."

Alec held her and let her feet fall to the floor. She was still shaking from all the adrenaline that had been running through her. Had anyone of Manticore's not so…friendly variety seen her during before he did…he didn't want to think about what could have happened to her. The guards weren't known to be the kind to ask questions before taking action; had they found her in her adrenaline induced frenzy, they most likely would have taken action now…and screw the questions. He thanked…whoever, that she hadn't made it out of the clearance area. He brought his hand up to her face to look her in the eyes with a confused look on his face, "Liz, how did you feel my anger? We haven't even mated yet."

Liz's eyes glazed over and whispered, "Yet?"

Alec smiled goofily, "Yet. –Now, how did you feel my anger?"

Liz looked down and blushed, "Antarians, don't mate, but they do claim…and I may have claimed you when I told Lydecker to let everyone on your mission know you have a girlfriend."

Alec lifted an eyebrow and smiled, "May have?"

Liz shrugged self-consciously, "I'm not really sure how it works, and all I know is that when you claim…you claim for life."

Alec put his fingers under his chin and looked at her, just feeling this sense of awe when it came to her, "What would have happened if…"

Liz just looked at him. "I don't know. I never met anyone from Antar who had claimed someone and the other person didn't reciprocate," she said quietly.

Alec pulled her closer, if that was possible, "Mate with me, Lizzie."

Liz smiled up at him with tears in her eyes, "You sure?"

Alec pulled her into a passionate kiss that he was sure would absolutely steal her breath away. He pulled back so she could breath and gave her nose a nuzzle with his own, "I've never been more sure about anything. I know it's soon, and we haven't been boyfriend and girlfriend long but I can't imagine being mated to anyone else."

Liz let tears of joy roll down her face. "Love me, Alec," she whispered and nodded at the same time.

Alec smiled and picked her up and carried her back to the apartment, knowing that within a few hours Liz would be his; what the ordinaries called a wife.


	9. Chapter 8

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry it took me so long to update. School has been kicking my but. Anyway, hopefully this chapter makes up for my absence. Enjoy!

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

Chapter Eight:

Liz looked up from her paperwork as someone opened her office door and stuck their head in.

"Biggs is in Exam Room 3, Parker," one of the medical assistances said quickly and then, just as suddenly as he had popped his head in, he popped back out.

Liz sighed and shook her head as a smile grew on her face. She quickly filed her paper work and then began making her way to the Exam Lab.

Liz shook her head when she saw her mate's best friend. Biggs looked up and the amusement she felt left her quickly at the sight of his beaten up face. She quickly made her way over to him and began doing a quick scan for injuries.

"Biggs! What the hell happened?" she demanded when she found the bruises that were currently gracing the majority of his body.

Biggs shrugged, but stayed silent.

Liz pulled away from him and placed her hands on her hips, while giving him her 'you better tell me or your current injuries will be the least of your problems' look that had him, Alec, Joshua, Isaac, Lydecker, Sandaman and a few others quite scared. If you weren't scared of the looks Liz gave…well…Biggs and Alec were just convinced that you had serious issues.

Biggs groaned and let his shoulders fall dejectedly.

"You and that damn look of yours," Biggs muttered.

Liz began tapping her foot as she waited for her…brother-in-mate? ... Who stayed silent.

Biggs sighed and finally gave up, "I got into a fight."

"No shit, Sherlock!" she said sarcastically.

"Oh! Come on, Liz! The ass totally had it coming! I don't care if they don't approve! They have no right to talk that horribly about you! Alec is their CO and you are his mate! They better learn to get over their shit and learn to deal!" Biggs said angrily.

Liz sighed and brought her hand up to Biggs cheek, "Biggs, you can't fight them all. I know a good majority of them don't like me. But I also knew what I was walking into. I am mated to the most sought after Alpha male there is. I knew I was going to get the looks and the attitudes."

Biggs sighed and placed his hands over hers, "Maybe so. But they are his pack and you are his for the rest of eternity. They should get to know you. You shouldn't have to put up with this shit."

Liz smiled at Biggs, leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek, "You're a good man, Biggs. And you cannot imagine how happy I am knowing that Alec and I have such an amazing friend like you."

Liz smiled as she watched Biggs shift uncomfortably. If there was one thing about Biggs that not many knew, it was that he didn't take praise so well; especially when it was for something he felt he should be doing and didn't deserve praise for. She decided to take it easy on him today.

"Alright, Biggs, lets get you looked at and then get you on your way," she said as she began fixing him up.

However, while she was fixing him up she couldn't help but remember the day that she had met Biggs and then Alec's unit. That had been one stressful day, but it was also the day she expanded her transgenic family.

Flashback

_Liz looked up as she began moving boxes and things from the moving trucks and into the Seattle facility. There stood one of the transgenics. He was just looking at her…studying her…she wasn't sure why though. But, finally, he broke the silence._

"_He told me he was planning on mating with you. I just hadn't assumed that it would be so soon," the gruff male said. _

_It was with that that Liz knew who this transgenic was. He was Alec's SIC…X5-532._

_Liz just stayed stationary as she looked at him, before speaking softly, "It was a spur of the moment decision.—I won't hurt him. I swear. I love him too much."_

_X5-532 gave a sarcastic laugh, "I don't know much about love, Liz. But I do know that when someone says that they love someone too much to hurt that person…the other person sometimes still ends up getting hurt."_

_Liz nodded slowly, "I know. My ex-boyfriend used to say the same thing to me. Next thing I knew he was cheating on me with the one person I could stand least in this world. Then before you know it, little miss manipulator got pregnant.—I won't hurt him, 532…I know what it's like to get hurt by the one who is supposed to love you."_

_532 just looked at her and seemed to be weighing what she had just said. After a few moments he nodded, "My name is Biggs. And Alec asked me to keep an eye on you while he's gone. The unit isn't going to take this well."_

_Liz gave him a slight smile._

"_I never expected that they would," she told him softly and truthfully. _

_Biggs smiled and nodded, "Alright. Come on. Let's get this over with. The sooner you meet the cats with claws the sooner we can get your wounds cleaned up and far away from pissed off female X5 transgenics."_

_Liz had to give a laugh at that, but nodded, put down the box she had been carrying and walked over to him, "Lead the way."_

_Liz walked alongside Biggs as they made their way to the outdoor drill yard. The walk there had been more or less silent when Biggs suddenly stopped and turned to her._

"_This most likely not going to be pretty, especially with the females; the males will see you as their leader's mate, but the females will see you as a threat. In their mind you took Alec from them," he told her seriously._

_Liz raised an eyebrow and gave him a 'You've got to be kidding me' look._

"_Biggs, I did take Alec from them. I'm not a transgenic and I mated with their top male," she said with a serious tone._

_Biggs was silent for a moment, "Okay, yeah, this is going to be bad."_

_Liz rolled her eyes as he turned around and began walking in the other direction. Liz reached out and grabbed his arm and yanked him back, "I don't think so mister. You're not leaving me to the lion's den by myself. I may be the 'top gun's' mate but I have a feeling it won't help me live long."_

_Biggs' shoulders fell and let out a defeated sigh before turning his head to look at her, "I'm a transgenic. I'm not afraid of anything…how the hell are you getting me to walk you into the lion's den?"_

_Liz rolled her eyes, "You may not be afraid, but you're loyal. It's not me that's getting you to go out there with me…its Alec…your brother and best friend."_

_Biggs rolled his eyes and turned back around and began making his way outside, "Remind me to kick his ass when he gets back."_

_Liz just smiled and shook her head in amusement as she followed her semi brother-in-…mate, or something like that._

_After a moment the two entered the court yard and made their way over to Alec's unit. However, before they made it to the group one of the females blurred and Liz found herself pinned to the cement wall of the facility with a snarling female in her face and her windpipe slowly crushing under the increasing pressure of the red head(')s fingers._

"_Your mate isn't here to protect you! And as far as I can tell…you're a threat to __MY__ unit," the red head said with a manipulative tone to her voice. _

_Despite the pain she was in, Liz knew that this red head was the alpha female of the group and most likely had the backing of the group. For a sad, pathetic moment she thinks she may have had a slight idea of what Tess had felt when she first showed up…That moment of sympathy toward her enemy in youth made her sick to her stomach, especially after all the shit Tess had put her through._

_Her thoughts were interrupted when all the sudden she could breath again, albeit raggedly. She brought her hand up to her neck and roughly filled her lungs once again as she watched some of the males and some of the females pulling the red head off of her._

_Liz looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was one of the younger females, probably about 15 years old. The young blond girl looked at Liz in concern, "Are you okay?"_

_Liz nodded slightly and then turned to look at what was happening to the red head. Liz's eyes widened slightly when the red head escaped the binds of the other's grasps. _

_However, what shocked her more was the young, blond, girl stepping in front of her, "623! You may be the Alpha female of the group but that is only due to age! You forget you place! My brother will have your life if you hurt her."_

_The blond glared at the red head and Liz could tell that on some level the red was extremely intimidated. Everyone from the unit watched as the red headed glared at the blond, but ultimately stood down._

_However, before the red head stormed off she glared at Liz, "This is not over. 494 is meant to be mine…and mark my words…he WILL be MINE!"_

_Liz sat back trying to not only calm down but also to try and understand what the hell had just happened. She watched as the blond kept her intimidating air about her as she looked at the rest of the unit, "Is there anyone else who wants to take up a problem at the moment?—If you have a problem either come to me or 532 on your own time, or you can wait until 494 gets back from his mission."_

_Then, Biggs comes up and stands next to the blond and addresses the group, "Whether you like the situation or not, Liz IS 494's mate. She is not to be harmed while 494 is not here, and believe me when I say should 494 find out there are any problems…I wouldn't want to be you."_

_After a few moments, some of the members of the groups went of in the direction that the red head had left, but some of the others stayed._

_One of the males walked up to Liz and held out his hand to her. _

_Liz looked up at him hesitantly and slowly placed her hand within his and allowed him to pull her up, "Don't worry about the rest of them, they are just used of 623 being head of the females. Sometimes they forget 841 here has a higher ranking. But don't worry there are enough of us who know 494 well enough to know he doesn't make impulsive decisions."_

_The young blond smiled at the guy and walked up to him and Liz, "What 725 is trying to say is welcome to the craziness that is our unit…and in my case family. Just to let you know, I'm liking you for a sister-in-law a hell of a lot more that I would have liked 623."_

_Liz's eyes widened in shock, "You're Alec's sister?"_

_The blond smiled widely as tears came to her eyes, "He has a name?"_

_Liz smiled bashfully and nodded, "I named him Alec because he reminds me a lot of my best friend who was killed when I was a teenager. His name was Alex. So, I named your brother Alec so that he would still have his own identity but still have a name that meant something."_

_The blond had tears streaming down her face and a smile that seemed to be growing by the second, "Thank you!"_

_But they the blond got a bit shy, "Would you name me?"_

_Liz looked at her curiously, "Wouldn't it mean more if Alec named you?"_

_The young girl thought about it for a moment, "Don't normal people have 2 names…and first and a middle name?"_

_Liz looked at the striking blue eyes looking back at her and nodded her head, "Alright, I'll give you a name, on two conditions…"_

_The blond looked hesitant, "What?"_

_Liz smiled softly, "One, you let Alec give you another name when he gets back from his mission and two…" she clasped her hands on each side of the blonds face and looked at her seriously, "Don't ever refer to yourself as not being normal again. No, what's normal to you is not normal to others and vice versa, but that is because there is no set normal. Normal is an abstract word you can't see it and you sure as hell can't have one set universal definition when it could to people and actions. You are beautiful and fiercely intimidating when you want to be, and I've only known you for a few minutes. Never, think that because you're not like someone else that you are not normal. You are your normal and that is all that matters…Claudia."_

_Claudia once again had tears streaming down her face as she looked at Liz. _

"_Claudia?" she asked softly._

_Liz smiled, "It was my grandmother's name. She died of a heart attack when I was a teenager. But she taught me so many valuable lessons while she was alive. I miss her everyday…but I know that she's with me with everything she taught me."_

_To say Liz was surprised when Claudia pulled her into a tight hug was an understatement. But, she smiled and wrapped her arms around the younger girl…she hugged her sister. Liz smiled and tightened her embrace on Claudia…her sister._

_End Flashback_

As Liz was fixing up Biggs the door to the Exam room opened; she looked up and smiled, "Hey, sweetie, what can I do for you?"

Claudia smiled at her and gave Biggs and kiss on the cheek, "Can we talk when your done with Biggs?"

Liz looked at her sister in concern, "Sure, I'm almost done. Then we can head up to the apartment okay?"

Claudia smiled and nodded, before hopping up on the hospital bed, of sorts, next to Biggs.

Biggs smirked at Claudia and shook his head in amusement, "Hey, squirt."

Alec paced back and forth in front of the baby grand piano, listening as Rachel played various compositions of music.

"Watch your pace," he commented as he listened. He had to admire that Rachel was a natural when it came to playing the piano, however, due to the fact that she didn't have the transgenic ability, it would take her a great deal longer to master her ability.

Alec turned when he heard a throat clearing. Standing there smiling was Robert Berrisford, "That sounded wonderful, my dear," he said as he placed a kiss on Rachel's head.

Rachel laughed, "I like Simon a lot better than my last teachers."

Alec smiled slightly and turned to Robert Berrisford, "Is there anything that you would like changed in Rachel's curriculum now that you read it over, Sir?"

Robert smiled, "No, Simon. The curriculum is fine. However, I do need to speak with you."

Alec nodded, "Of course, Sir. Rachel, please continue with the compositions and we'll move from there later."

Rachel nodded and smiled widely at him.

Alec then turned to Robert Berrisford and followed him into his office.

"Simon, please have a seat," he said as he sat down behind his desk.

Alec did as he was told with a slightly confused expression of his face, "Is there something wrong, Sir?"

Robert sighed and folded his hands on top of the desk, "Simon, my daughter is at a very impressionable age. And I'm afraid that due to your age and my daughter's age I am forced to ask you to leave my daughter alone."

Alec looked at his employer in complete confusion, "I'm afraid I don't understand, Mr. Berrisford. I would like to be Rachel's friend to allow her to be comfortable and at ease as she learns new and more difficult compositions. Her ease will allow her to pick up the complexities faster…But I'm afraid I don't understand…you want me to leave her alone…are you firing me?"

Robert Berrisford once again sighed. Alec caught the slight tone of annoyance embedded in the sigh.

"Simon, the simplest way for me to put this is…Simon, Rachel has a crush on you," Robert said bluntly.

Alec's eyes widened in shock and then brought his hand to his head and closed his eyes, "Oh god, I thought Liz was joking."

Robert Berrisford looked at him with a confussed look on his face, "I'm sorry, Simon, I'm afraid you've lost me."

Alec sighed and looked at Robert, "Liz, my girlfriend, we talk on the phone all the time, she just started a new job as a medical Technician for birth defect research," he couldn't help the pride that filled his voice. But he knew Berrisford caught it too, and it could only help his case at this point.

"Anyway, one night, out of nowhere, she tells me Rachel has a crush on me. I thought she was just pulling my leg. She has an odd sense of humor when she's stressed," Alec finished as he took off 'his' glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a very REAL headache coming on.

Berrisford looked at him oddly, "Simon, are you saying you thought, and still think, it's preposterous for Rachel to have a crush on you?"

Alec winced on the inside. He knew Manitcore had made him perfect, therefore increasing the odds of awkward situations such as this…but Berrisford didn't need to know that.

"In all honesty, Sir, yeah, I do. No offense, but I'm a 22 year old piano teacher…sometimes I wonder how the hell I have the girlfriend I have. Liz is…amazing. I don't know what on earth she sees in me 99 of the time," Alec only half lied through his teeth.

He became even more confused when a smile grew on Berrisford's face.

"You wouldn't happen to have a picture of this amazing Liz, would you? As Rachel's father, if I'm going to have to crush her dreams, I'd like to see this girl who has your heart which my daughter seems to want," he chuckled lightly.

Alec actually blushed a bit; hopefully that little tidbit would never get back to his unit or his wife. But he smiled and nodded as he put his glasses back on and pulled out 'his' wallet, from his back pocket and opening it to his favorite picture of Liz. He handed the wallet over to Berrisford.

"It's the picture on the right. It was actually her college senior picture," Alec said with a smile.

Berrisford smiled and handed the wallet back to him, "She's beautiful, Simon."

Alec smiled, "Thank you, Sir."

Berrisford nodded, "Hold on to that Angel, Simon."

Alec nodded, "I plan on it, Sir. I'm actually proposing when I see her during the Holidays."

What Berrisford didn't know wouldn't hurt him. He just needed to prove to Berrisford that he was taken so he wouldn't watch him any more than he already was. A suspicious or angry Berrisford meant a mission gone wrong and that was something he wasn't willing to do.

Berrisford smiled at him, "Good for you, Simon. You'll let me know her answer?"

Alec nodded, "Of course, Sir."

Liz and Claudia made their way up to the apartment in silence. Liz could feel the nerves coming off Claudia in waves. Something was obviously on the girl's mind and Liz wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

When they got inside the apartment they sat on the couch and Claudia got straight to the point.

"I want to help you find Ben," she said quickly.

Out of all the things Liz thought Claudia wanted to talk about that was hardly what she had expected. She just looked at her sister for a few moments of shock filled silence. On one hand, Liz could definitely use the help, but she also knew that Alec would flip a lid if he found out that she was letting his little sister help her look for his murderous twin brother. Especially, now when she was absolutely positive the reasons behind his killings had nothing to do with anything except a mental instability that originated from the original practices of Manticore.

"You couldn't have just said that you think you might be pregnant?" Liz asked as she sighed.

Claudia just raised an eyebrow at that but stayed quiet while she let Liz think it over.


	10. Chapter 9

SCIENTISTS AND TRANSGENICS

Chapter Nine

Alec ran through the Seattle facility, not caring who he ran into. He just wanted to reach Lydecker to find out what the hell happened to Liz. He had never been so scared as he was when he got the phone call.

Flashback

_Alec was sitting at the dinning table with Robert and Rachel as they ate lunch. The three didn't do this often, but Robert was home to eat lunch with Rachel and they often invited him to join them. The lunches had never been too horrible. Robert and Rachel would bring him into the conversations about one thing or another. It was usually very comfortable. Alec had even come to enjoy them. That is until Robert began to bring up Liz. Before that Rachel had always been really happy and would look at him and her father with big smiles and lots of laughter._

_However, lately, Alec had noticed that Rachel was looking at him with either sad eyes or the other eyes. Those worried him the most—it was the times that she looked at him with calculating motives. He really didn't want to know what her seventeen year old mind was coming up with as days passed by. From what he knew about the teenage female transgenics, they could be pretty…colorful…when they were thinking of ways to get their competition out of the way. He wasn't exactly to sure how much of that trait ordinary females had._

_He sat quietly as Robert and Rachel caught up on the past week's events when his cell phone began to chirp. He quickly wiped his mouth, apologized, and excused himself from the table in order to answer the phone call._

"_Lehane," he said as he answered the phone._

"_Alec…"_

_Alec tensed at the tone in Lydecker's voice. Not to mention that Lydecker was risking the mission by calling his cell phone._

"_Alec…Its Liz. There's been a breach in her mission."_

_Alec felt his heart drop to his stomach, "What do you mean?"_

_They sigh Lydecker let out didn't set well with him, "She was able to locate Ben…but we think Ben had to have known because he got to her before we could get to him. –Alec, we don't know where he's taken her. But please, believe me when I say getting her back is my first and main priority."_

_Alec closed his eyes to ward off every emotion that roared through his body, "I want to be there. I-I need to be there."_

_He knew he was getting choked up in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he didn't care…his 'brother' had his __wife_

"_You know I won't say no. I want you to go with the story that Liz was in a really bad accident…does he know Liz by name?" Lydecker asked curiously._

_Alec gave a slight wince, "Yeah."_

_It was like Lydecker could hear or see him wince, "Don't worry about it, Alec. Believe it or not it just adds more credibility to your story. –Now, I have one of your guys coming for you in a cab, He could be there in about 10 minutes."_

_Alec nodded, "Alright and thanks."_

"_No problem. See you soon."_

_And with that the two disconnected and Alec tried to get his emotions under control as best he could…but it just wasn't working. He took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his eyes and made his way back toward the dining room._

_Robert Berrisford was the first to notice him. The older man looked at him in concern, "Simon, is everything okay?"_

_Alec swallowed thickly and shook his head, "No, actually it's not. – … Liz was in a really bad accident. That was her dad on the phone."_

_The whole dad part was not really a lie, Lydecker and Sandaman had been looking at Liz as their daughter for a while now. _

"_Sir, I really am sorry, I know the contract says…," Alec started but Robert shook his head and held up his hands._

"_Nonsense, Simon. Take as much time as you need. Believe me when I say that I have some idea of what you are going through right now."_

_Alec realized that the older man mostly likely did know exactly how he was feeling…okay not exactly, after all his genetic murderous twin brother didn't have his wife held captive._

_Alec just nodded and than scrubbed a hand over his face, "Thank you, Sir."_

_Robert shook his head, "Think nothing of it, Simon. The only thing I want you to worry about right now is Liz. All I ask is that you keep me posted on her condition."_

_Alec nodded, "Of course, Sir. And again, thank you."_

_Robert smiled sadly and nodded, "Of course. Now go to your girl, son."_

_Alec gave a weak smile and nodded. He quickly looked over at Rachel to say goodbye, but she was looking down at her plate and stabbing her food with her fork rather violently. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the thoughts that were running through her head right now._

End Flashback

As Alec made his way through the facility he stopped when he heard Lydecker, "494!"

He looked over at the man that looked far colder than he had looked in the past seven months. He immediately followed in the direction that Lydecker took off in.

"What the hell happened?" Alec demanded when he caught up with Lydecker.

Lydecker sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "We're not sure, Alec. She was working in the DNA lab with your sister and then out of nowhere Ben pops up and takes her captive and then blurred out. Claudia tried to stop him but he threw her across the room. He probably didn't get a chance to smell the familial scent that the three of you share."

Alec's frown deepened as his anger boiled, "It probably wouldn't have stopped him. —how did he get in?"

Lydecker sighed, "The council is currently questioning all the guards and the CO's are questioning their units. But all we've gotten so far is that they thought he was you."

"Damn it! That means he's been doing his homework. He knows we're twins and he knows about me and Liz," Alec groaned.

Lydecker nodded, "However, we're thinking he found out about Liz first and then found out about you through his research about her."

"Which means he's been monitoring her," Alec sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Alec immediately heard one voice, in particular, the second he walked through a set of doors that lead to…well, the headquarters of this mission he guessed.

"Alec!"

He lifted his head in time to catch the blonde bundle of tears that flew into his arms. He held her tight as she cried.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay, Lia. We'll get her back, there isn't any other option."

He knew what he said was true. There was no way in hell he wasn't getting his wife back.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Claudia's sobs got stronger, "You have to get her back, Alec. You just have to!"

Alec frowned and pulled back to look his sister in the eye, "Claudia, what aren't you telling me?"

As tears streamed steadily down her face she shook her head, "I can't tell you."

He growled and closed his eyes for a minute to calm down a bit. After a moment he opened his eyes again and looked her in the eye with a sternness he didn't usually pull on his sister: his rank as a transgenic. His rank as CO.

"Claudia McKenzie McDowell! You are going to tell me what is going on right now!"

Claudia let out another sob and closed her eyes before nodding. After another moment she looked back up and him, "She wanted to wait to tell you during the holidays. She wanted to give you a reason to enjoy Christmas. She only had a couple of weeks left to wait, Alec."

Alec urgently searched his sister's eyes.

"What? What was she going to tell me, Claudia?" he asked in a whisper.

Claudia looked him right in the eye and whispered, "She's pregnant, Alec. She's pregnant."

Alec just looked at his sister in disbelief, as did the rest of the room who were now dead silent.

Liz groaned as she came to. Her head ached in a way she had never felt before.

"I was wondering when you were going to come around," said a voice that sounded like Alec's but at the same time didn't.

Liz sighed and rolled her head back, despite the pain, to get a look at her husband's twin brother, "I see we finally get to meet, Ben."

He growled and pushed his face close to hers, a dangerous look in his eyes. Liz flinched back in sudden fear, pushing her head back into the hard surface behind her, which unfortunately felt like solid cement, "You don't get to call me that!"

Liz clenched her jaw in response to the pain that shot through her head. When she flinched she had pushed her head back into what ever the hell was behind her. She nodded slightly despite the pain as she turned her head back to look at him, "Alright, then what can I call you? Somehow, I don't think you'd take kindly to being called 493, either."

Ben narrowed his eyes and ignored her question, "Who is the X5 that looks like me?"

Liz looked him right in the eye. She was about to take a long shot but from what she knew about Ben, it was probably her best bet, "He's your biological twin brother. His designation is 494.—His name is Alec."

Ben looked at her with a surprised look on his face.

"He has a name?" he asked in disbelief.

Liz nodded, "So does your biological baby sister. Her designation is 841. Her name is Claudia. In fact, she was the blonde you threw across the room back in the lab."

Ben was silent for a minute, but she saw the vast number of emotions pass through his eyes. He was like Alec in that aspect, that was for sure.

But then he shook his head and angrily pointed a gun at her, "Stop messing with my head! Why were _you_ looking for me?"

"Because you and Alec are twins! Identical in every way possible, including genetics which means that I was searching to make sure that what ever is causing you to kill isn't a neurological trait that is carried in Alec or Claudia as well. Your actions got your brother thrown in psyops. –… But mostly, because, I want to make sure my mate, my husband, and the father of my unborn child will be there to see his child…your niece or nephew…grow up," she finished quietly.

She couldn't stop the tears that came to her eyes, "I want the love of my life to be able to experience a true family something that he was deprived of as a child. I want Claudia to know that just because she isn't what the ordinaries consider normal, that it doesn't make her a bad sister or that she can't be a good aunt or that she isn't worthy of A man or woman's love just because she is a transgenic."

"I want you to know that you don't have to be alone and if you let me help you, I will help you find your unit, your pack, your family. I will help you with any problems you have. I want you to be apart one word of the family I have with Alec. I won't let Manticore touch you. I will play mediator between you and Alec," she said quietly.

After a moment she looked at him earnestly, "I swear to you…Manticore is changing. Be apart of that change. Show the assholes that run Manticore what is wrong with it! Be an uncle to your nephew and a brother to your twin brother and your baby sister!"

She knew she was playing dirty as she touched upon his weak points…but it was working…she could see it in his eyes.

He shook his head dejectedly, "I can't. I have to get gifts for the Blue Lady so that she will protect me and my siblings."

She looked at him in confusion, "Blue Lady?"

Ben nodded, "The Blue Lady. When we were kids I found a picture of her. She's beautiful. And we give her gifts so that she will save us and protect us."

Her mind was racing a mile a minute and looked at him hopefully.

"Will you show me the Blue Lady?" she asked quietly.

He was silent for a minute but then nodded, albeit reluctantly. He walked over to her and pulled her up by her upper arm, her hands were still confined behind her back. But when she stood up she got dizzy.

"Oh God," she groaned.

He looked at her in concern yet still cautious, "Are you okay?"

She gently nodded but then quickly leaned over and away from him and emptied her stomach. She felt him hold onto her and steady her as she got sick.

Once she was done he reached for the cleanest cloth he could find and wiped her mouth for her.

She looked at him and gave him a slight smile, "Thank you."

He was still looking at her in concern, "Are you okay? Why'd you get sick?"

"I'm still in the first trimester of my pregnancy, so I still have morning sickness; so if I get dizzy I get sick, too. Plus, I think I have a concussion," she said softly.

He nodded but was still looking at her in concern, "Alright, take it easy and we need to get you something to eat."

With that he began to lead her out of…wherever they were. All she knew was that it was an abandoned building.

"I swear I won't try anything. But the restraints will draw unwanted attention. Plus, I have money in my back pocket. We could go to a diner or something," she suggested. She really wanted to be somewhere that was relatively public for the time being.

He reluctantly nodded and removed her restraints, allowing her to pull her hands to her chest and soothingly rub her sore wrists. Then she felt him wrap his arm around her waist and his gun being pressed into her side, "Stay close. This part of town isn't the best."

She just nodded, knowing that what he said easily translated into 'don't even think about trying anything'. She wrapped her arm around his waist so that she could steady herself if another bought of dizziness came on…plus it would draw less attention to them. It also allowed her to grab on to him quickly if a problem should arise. She knew she had to stay focused. If she didn't she might not be able to use the current situation to her advantage. This gave her the opportunity to figure out as much as she could about Ben; but it also gave her a chance at allowing Alec and the others enough time to find her.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Liz sat silently as she drank her tea and ate her toast and scrambled eggs. She was happy that her stomach was no longer nauseous, however, her head still hurt and all she wanted to do was sleep…oh yeah, she definitely had a concussion.

She could feel Ben's eyes on her with every move she made. Besides, she wasn't stupid; she knew his gun was aimed at her and set right next to him…in reach, but out of sight.

She was still having a hard time with his eyes. He had her husband's eyes…but they were cold. She knew that he was probably wearing a similar look to which Alec wore when he went into soldier mode…but she knew that the soldier wasn't all Alec was…she could only hope that Ben hadn't given over to the soldier in him completely.

She was silent as he ate his meal; then the waitress walked over and set the bill on the table and left with a parting smile, even if it was unsure and reluctant.

Liz silently grabbed the bill and then pulled out enough money to cover the bill and tip.

"Are you done?" he asked her casually.

She just nodded.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "Talk. You're drawing attention," he ordered her sternly.

She shot him a glare and stood up, "I have a headache and all I want to do is sleep because of my concussion and plus, morning sickness sucks. So can we just go?" she said quietly yet forcefully.

Ben didn't answer, he just grabbed her by the arms and spun her around as he half pushed and half guided her through the maze of tables and out the door.

He led her through the streets and again they were silent. However, Liz wasn't in the mood to stay silent anymore.

"Why are you doing this, Ben?" she asked.

He jerked her arm, spinning her around so that she was facing him, "Did I not make myself clear 

before? You don't have the right to call me that."

Liz just looked him in the eye, "Fine. But, all the same, why are you doing this?"

Ben looked at her for a moment, "This is who I am. I am a soldier; a predator. I was bred to kill. You might want to get used to it; you're mated to one."

Liz ripped her arm from his grip. She saw the slight surprise in his eyes, but if she hadn't known to look for it she wouldn't have seen it.

"My husband is nothing like you. He's a good soldier; a good man. –I won't pretend to know what either of you have gone through at the hands of Manticore…but killing the way you do…somewhere inside of you, you know what you're doing is wrong," she growled.

Ben glared at her and gripped her arm once again and began pulling her along.

She was slightly surprised at the fact that, despite how angry she was making him, he wasn't gripping her arm hard enough to break it; oh, she would have one hell of a bruised arm, but she wouldn't have any crippling injuries from his grip.

He pulled her once again into an abandoned building.

He released his hold on her after he locked the door behind him.

He sighed and placed his gun onto some surface that was within reach before turning to her, "I am doing what I was made for; what I was taught!"

Liz snorted at that, "Please, I've seen the 'class' requirements. I work at fucking Manticore! I've heard what the classes were like. There was no Serial Homicide 101!"

He glared at her and said through gritted teeth, "Don't pretend you understand. Don't pretend that you know what it's like to be a soldier. Don't pretend you know what its like to have a mission."

Liz shook her head, "See that's what you don't understand. I am mated to a soldier! I live with soldiers everyday of every week; 24/7. I know soldiers. Hell, I grew up with a soldier and let me tell you something…none of them relish in the constant kill."



Ben was silent as he looked at her.

"I know what it means to have others die to protect yourself and others. I was there when my brother killed to protect his family, but I was also there when he couldn't sleep at night afterward; when he couldn't eat. Michael knows how to kill and will if he has too, but he doesn't do what you're doing! –He is a soldier!" she said earnestly.

"Everything I do is for her!" He said sincerely.

"Her who?" Liz asked.

"The Blue Lady! If I fight for her; get her their teeth she will protect me, my siblings, you and everyone else. She will fight off the nomalies. With every kill, every gift she gets stronger!" he said gravely.

Liz half sighed and half glared, "Why did you leave, Ben?"

Ben just looked at her with cold eyes. He wasn't glaring, but she could tell that he was getting irritated with her.

"You're trying to tell me that every staff member hasn't heard of us and our escape?" he asked irritated.

Now she was getting irritated. He was worse than Michael was when he didn't want to answer any questions.

"I've heard the stories and the supposed facts, Ben. But obviously I am asking you…why did you leave? If being a soldier is who you are and then why leave the place that made you a soldier?"

Ben studied her for a bit. She could tell he was debating whether or not he was going to answer her; then the debate was what he was going to say. He finally spoke after a good five minutes.

"Being a soldier was all I knew. We were their best," he gave her a sarcastic smile, "Believe it or not; they were easier on us than the others in some aspects. Sure (,) we got trained harder and things like that," he shook his head and sighed, "But all of the experimental stuff was given to the others before us."

Liz just watched him, "You were pretty high up there in rank in order to know that."  


She already knew he was SIC from her talks with Lydecker, but she knew that it would give him a chance to open up about things he probably wouldn't have otherwise. She had never thanked her years of experience with 'Stonewall' Guerin so much in her life, as she was right now.

Ben gave a small smile, "SIC. Zack was CO. –It wasn't so bad you know. We were kids…we got to go outside and burn off the energy we had. We were given food to eat…it may not have been the best food, but it was food. We got clothes to wear. We slept in the same room as our families…our units."

Liz noticed the far off look in his eyes.

"It didn't get bad until our first mission. –One of the bad parts about being their perfect group…we went on a mission before the others…we didn't know what to expect," he sighed and closed his eyes.

"I was 10. Zack was 12. –Maxie was the baby at 9," he opened his eyes and looked her in the eye, "You ever heard of what we did?"

Liz nodded and a light went off in her head, "You've been replicating the mission."

Ben nodded, "Being the best has its advantages. We were trained to achieve perfection. No mistakes."

She looked him in the eyes finally grasping some understanding, "Manticore would have known it was one of your siblings from the killings. You want Manticore to know that it's you. Why?"

Ben turned his head away from her for a moment before turning back to her, "Why did they have you looking for me?"

Liz sighed, "We've been over this! They wanted me to find out what is wrong with you and to see if it could affect Alec!"

"There is nothing wrong with me!" he yelled.

Liz shook her head and took another step toward him, "No, you just hate yourself!"

Ben looked at her incredulously, "What the hell are you talking about?"  


Liz had a look of understanding on her face, "You hate it out here because nothing makes sense to you. I have been trying to figure out why you give them your barcode."

Ben scoffed, "So I sign my work; war is art. So what?"

Liz shook her head, "No, signing your work would be tattooing them after they were already dead. Don't you get it, Ben? In some way you are trying to end your own pain! If you kill someone with your barcode it's like killing yourself; ending the pain; ending the confusion. The only problem is that every time you kill you turn yourself just a little bit more into the monster you feared as a child!"

She could see his defenses cracking and breaking. He's had no one to talk to; no one who understood; no one who thought past making him pay for what he's done.

"I am not a nomalie!" he bit out, "You're getting awfully brave for someone who I could kill in a matter of seconds."

She took one last step towards him, leaving her only a foot from him.

"You won't kill me…you can hear my baby's heartbeat. You can smell Alec on me. You can even smell Claudia on me, I bet. And both scents are similar to yours…you can't help but categorize them as family; me as family," she said seriously.

"Besides," she shrugs and held up her hand and aimed it at the wall that was spray pained with the words 'mission', 'duty' and 'discipline' on it and let her power free. Ben jumped as the wall exploded and then looked at Liz with wide eyes.

"I can defend myself just fine, Ben."

He looked back at the wall and then back at her, "You're a nomaly."

She smiled at him sadly, "No, I'm not, Ben. Your nomalies were created in the walls of Manticore. I was born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico. Science gave me that ability, much like it gave you yours. Don't you see? I understand what it feels like to have to hide what you are just because no one else would understand."

Ben looked back to where the wall had once stood. She knew he was looking for those words. 

They were what gave him some kind of understanding; comfort.

"It's okay, Ben. You don't have to do this to yourself, to other innocent people, anymore," she whispered.

He looked back at her with tears in his eyes, "I never should have escaped. Everything made sense there."

She shook her head.

"No, Ben, even I know that it didn't make sense back then with everything that they did," she said soothingly, "but you can help me make Manticore make sense for you now; for the others; for the next generation;" she gently took his hand and placed it on her stomach, "for your niece or nephew."

He looked at her stomach and then at her as tears fell down his face, "I'm a good soldier."

She smiled at him gently and then pulled her brother-in-law into a hug, "I know, Ben, I know."

Ben wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tightly.

"Do you think she hates me?" he asked softly.

Liz pulled back to look at him in confusion, "The Blue Lady?"

Ben shook his head, "Maxie."

Liz gave a near audible gasp, "Oh, Ben. –I don't know.

Ben sighed, "Even if Maxie forgives me, Alec and Claudia wont. Alec is going to kick my ass for more than just this."

"Yeah, I am!" said a voice behind them.

They both turned to see a very pissed off Alec.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Liz and Ben looked at Alec as he stood there glaring at Ben. But what got to Liz, even more than the nerves that Alec might truly hurt Ben in his moment of anger, was that Ben didn't even seem to go on the defensive. She realized that, for some reason, he was going to let Alec do whatever he wanted to do. With that thought she gently placed herself between Ben and Alec, an act that got a half glare and a half look of confusion from her mate.

"Alec, I know you're mad at Ben and I will be the first to admit that you have every right to be, but think rationally. This is not the time or the place to have this out with him right now. When we are back at Manticore and in a semi-controlled environment, I swear I won't step in your way," she said softly but seriously.

She could tell by the look in Alec's eye that he didn't like what she was doing, but that he, on some level, understood her reasoning.

"Fine. Let's get him back to Manticore before I do something stupid," he said through clenched teeth.

Liz turned back and smiled at Ben slightly to let him know that it would be okay. She held out her hand to him to get him to follow her. He was about to take her hand when Alec blurred over and placed himself in between Liz and Ben, "You've hurt my 'wife' enough. Don't touch her."

Ben didn't say anything. He just dropped his hand to his side as Alec reached for the gun that Ben had placed on the table, all while never taking his eyes off of the mirror image of himself.

Alec checked the gun and once he checked the safety, to make sure it wouldn't accidentally fire, he put it in the waist band of his pants and covered it with his shirt. He looked at Ben with the promise of pain in his eyes should the other transgenic not listen to what he was about to say, "Walk close to us so that you don't draw any unwanted attention. We need to give off the impression that we are brothers, or at least friends, walking down the street with my girl. Stay where I can see you at all times and don't make any sudden movements that I could deem threatening, because you won't like the outcome of it. This is your one and only warning, you got me?"

Ben nodded his head once and looked at Liz in question who just gave him a reassuring smile. But they both knew that Alec wasn't in the best of moods at the moment and it would be a good idea not to test the limits of his patience at the moment.

The three of them walked out of the abandoned building and began making their way back to Manticore. As they walked Alec would make a small comment every now and then that would add to the look of a concerned boyfriend, such as "Are you sure you're okay?" and things like that. And Ben would do his part to send concerned looks Liz's way and then would do his best to force a smile at something Alec would say that was supposed to be funny. If there was one thing that could be said about both transgenics, it was that they both had the charm about them that could get almost anyone to believe that they were okay.

However, Ben all the sudden stopped short when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye just outside of the church that he had dropped off the teeth of his last hunt. His action alerted both Alec and Liz causing them to turn and look at him when he was no longer walking next to them.

Alec looked annoyed and Liz looked concerned at this latest development.

"Ben? What's wrong?" Liz asked quietly.

Ben looked around as he focused his senses perfectly. He could tell that they were being followed and it wasn't the soldiers that had been following them since they began making their way toward Manticore.

Alec looked at Ben as his mirror image looked around with his transgenic pinpoint eyesight and his other equally advanced senses; it was then that he realized that he and Ben were in fact quite similar. It was clear that despite not having spent as much time in Manticore as he had, Ben was still a pretty good soldier. Alec still surpassed the 09er in many skills and much more, but it was also clear that had Ben stayed at Manticore, the two of them would have gone head to head for the alpha position; a realization that didn't sit well with him at all.

"We need to leave now. Maxie, isn't as good as following others while being undetected as much as she would like to think she is," Ben said seriously with every controlled movement of his body and every contraction and release of his muscles displaying the skilled soldier within that was aware of nearly every moving thing around him.

Alec opened his own senses even more hoping to catch what his twin was picking up on. When he finally sensed the extra person following them he realized why his internal soldier hadn't viewed the 'stalker' as a threat, she was being too loud; her breathing, her footsteps, and the things she touched and the clothing she wore. She was a lot more silent than an untrained ordinary, but the part of her that was skilled and trained wasn't something that he couldn't handle on his own. He also realized that he didn't recognize her scent, however, he could understand why Ben would, after all they had grown up in the same unit. His twin had picked up on the scent of his fellow 09er first, of that he was absolutely sure.

Alec nodded and tightened his hold on Liz's waist.

"Ben, are you sure you don't want to talk to her?" Liz asked softly.

Ben shook his head and gave her a sad smile, "I think all three of us know that I'm well versed in the art of hunting. And that is exactly what she is doing. She is hunting for information about me…I can't take the chance."

"Chance?" Liz asked in confusion.

Alec nodded in understanding, "We don't know if she is hunting for information on him to help him or to hurt him. Come on let's move. Get on the other side of Liz and hold on to her. If we both blur it will be easier to get to Manticore without her following us."

Ben did as he was told and they both walked over to an out of the way hiding spot and then blurred out, which to the untrained eye would just appear to be a gust of wind.

Ben also knew that it was a move that Maxie wouldn't be expecting. She would probably think that he would come to her. But now she knew that there were two of him walking around, that would pique her interest more than either him or Alec would like, of that he was absolutely sure.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The three arrived at Manticore quickly and safely. However, when they stopped Liz groaned causing both transgenics to look at her in concern.

She looked paler to both of them as she brought one of her hands to her stomach and leaned her head against Alec's arm, "Baby, I need to see a doctor and I am definitely going to puke."

Alec then quickly, but gently picked her up and turned to Ben, "Follow me; Lydecker and Sandaman are going to want to see you, and trust me wherever Liz is, they will be too."

Ben didn't even nod, he just followed. He wanted to make sure Liz and his niece or nephew were okay, but he also knew that he had to talk to Alec. He knew that with Maxie now knowing that there were two of him running around, she would be even more relentless. If there was one thing he was sure would never change in that girl, it was that she tended to get involved in things she really shouldn't…it was a trait that seemed to be rather dominant in their unit, but most prominently in Max and it tended to bring trouble to her feet.

Ben sat down on one of the examination tables across from Liz while Alec stood next to her as the doctor did a complete physical on both her and the baby. Both were relieved when the doctor gave both Liz and the baby a clean bill of health, aside from Liz's minor concussion. However, he did say that she was to be on bed rest for at least a week.

However, when the exam should have been over, both Alec and Ben became confused. Liz pulled her hair into a ponytail and exposed her neck for the doctor to look at.

When Alec saw the bruising on her neck he immediately spun around to glare threatening at his twin. The only thing that stopped him from killing his twin there and then was the doctor's quick interference, "He didn't give them to her. These are at least two weeks old. And I have already been keeping track of them while you've been on your mission."

Alec backed off but he still glared at his twin for a moment. He wanted someone to blame and at the moment his twin was the easiest target.

The doctor once again interrupted his thoughts when he whistled, "Damn, Parker, she sure did a number on you. These should have faded awhile ago."

Alec was still confused as Liz scoffed slightly, "Yeah, because bruises from a _crushed wind pipe_ are known to heal over night."

Both Alec and Ben's eyes widened at her statement. However, it was then that Alec caught sight of the full extent of the bruising that was on his mate's neck…and it was in the shape of a handprint that was too small to even remotely be that of his twin's. Alec growled deep in his throat and glared at the doctor, "Leave, I need a moment with Liz."

The doctor swallowed thickly as he nodded and backed out of the exam room. Ben's movement to leave as well was caught out of the corner of Alec's eye. Alec switched his gaze to his twin and ground out through clenched teeth, "Until Lydecker and Sandaman show up with another transgenic you don't leave my sight. Stay where you are."

"Alec!" Liz scolded in the way that could only come from a girlfriend.

But it was clear that Alec wasn't listening as he glared. She knew his anger wasn't completely at her but that didn't mean she was happy about him glaring and growling like that.

"Who did this to you?"

Liz rolled her eyes, "Alec, don't worry about it. She's been dealt with. Biggs and Lia had a discussion with her and Lydecker and the others put her into 48 hours solitary."

Alec shook his head, "Don't care! Who and why? –Now!"

"Alec McDowell! I get that you are a soldier and the commanding officer of a military unit but don't you EVER order me to do something again. I am your mate; I am NOT one of your soldiers!"

Alec was now inches from her face still glowering and glaring, "I've been on a mission, I've got a 17 year-old ordinary girl who is probably plotting ways to kill you, I've got clone boy who not only risked your life but the life of our unborn child and NOW I'm only just finding out that a transgenic tried to kill you! Those bruises are not exactly new, Liz. And obviously the doctor has treated them before, so why the hell am I only learning about this now?"

Liz sighed, "Fine, it happened just after you left for the mission and when you came back for recall and check-in there wasn't exactly enough time for you to be worried about it never mind to actually tell you about it. It was 632. She wasn't exactly thrilled that you mated with an ordinary, and she made it well known. Quite a few others have agreed with her. –As for Ben, you can leave him out of this, he didn't know who I was when he took me, and I can guarantee you that you two are enough alike that if he had known who I was he never would have hurt me in the first place. And Alec, she is a 17 year-old girl. She's just a kid, cut her a break."

Now Alec's jaw was set, "Why wasn't I told by someone?"

"Because I can take care of myself! She caught me off guard."

"Obviously."

Liz glared at his sarcasm, "I am not a fucking china doll, Alec! You don't have to treat me like I'm going to break. In case you have forgotten, I've been through hell and back during the last decade of my life!"

"That doesn't mean you can handle a pissed off transgenic, Liz! You're only human!" he said exasperatedly.

Liz got a hurt look in her eyes and flinched at his words. She held her tears at bay, "Well, I'm sorry I'm ONLY human and that being mated to me is such a problem for you. I can't become a transgenic for you Alec. If you dislike my human status so much…you're free to go. I won't trap you anymore."

With that she jumped off of the exam table and ran out of the room leaving a stunned and confused Alec behind.

Ben sat in silence as he watched Alec. He could see the regret, the guilt and the anger build in Alec, within mere moments of Liz's departure.

Alec closed his eyes to try and calm himself before he bunched the muscles in his back and arms before he flipped the exam table that Liz had been sitting on over onto its side, knocking over other medical tools in the process.

Ben couldn't help himself. He knew he was going to get his ass kicked by Alec anyway, might as well take the time to throw his two cents in while he got his ass handed to him by his little brother, "Well, that went well."

Alec let out another growl before he spun around and clocked Ben one right in the jaw.

Ben smirked and brought his hand up to his split lip and looked at the blood on his fingers. He looked up at Alec, "Nice shot. Feel better, little brother?"

Alec narrowed his eyes at his twin and proceeded to kick him in the gut, so hard that the exam table Ben had managed to stay on after the punch, now was flipped on its side and Ben had flown back a good six feet. Alec clenched his fists and ground out, "No, not really. You're still here, fucking up my life."

Ben got to his feet with a couple of coughs to catch his breath. Then he let out a sarcastic laugh, "You don't seem to need my help in doing that. You did just fine all on your own a few moments ago."

With that Alec flew into a fury of punches, kicks and just beating the shit out of Ben. Neither one noticed Lydecker or Sandaman walk in nor Sandaman stopping Lydecker from trying to break up the fight. Alec was too busy taking out his anger and Ben was too busy trying not to die at the hands of his brother's anger and frustrations.

After a while Alec stopped his attack and stepped back breathing hard and just looked at his twin in question, "You're not even fighting back."

Ben slowly got up and spit out the blood that had gathered in his mouth and then just shrugged, "Yeah, well I can't say I didn't make your life hell there for a while. –Liz told me about psyops and the testing."

The two just stood there looking at one another.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you," Alec demanded, breaking the silence.

Ben laughed at that and gave a smile that Alec had seen many times on himself before he had met Liz. Ben just shrugged, "I can't. We both know I deserve it for what I've done. –You and I we're a lot alike: we just want to be good soldiers. But there's a big difference…and that difference just ran out the door with your child growing inside of her."

Alec was silent as Ben shook his head in dumbfounded amazement, "You can't even see it can you?"

Alec frowned, "See what?"

"Why do you think it's so hard for her to hear that she is 'only human' from you of all people?"

Alec scoffed at that, "Because she's stubborn and hard headed."

Ben stopped to think for a moment before nodding, "Well, yeah, that too. But it's also because of you. I'm another transgenic; I can sense that you are the alpha…but dude, so can she. And I can guarantee it's got something to do with those nifty powers of her, which by the way scare the living shit out of me. Anyway, Alec, she's afraid that she's not enough. She would have all the confidence in herself and confidence that you wouldn't leave her if **you** were human…but you're not and you've got hundreds of female transgenics that could off her in seconds in a fight for the affections of their alpha.—And she knows it.

She doesn't have it in her to use her powers to hurt another being, transgenic or not. She knows that if it came down to the transgenic way of life…she wouldn't win. But to have her mate basically say she is inferior to every female transgenic…it just adds to her own insecurities about your relationship.—She just wants to feel worthy of your affections; of your love. –Think of it this way, how would you feel if she just came out one day and said that you weren't enough for her or that you weren't good enough for her because you are a transgenic."

Alec took in what his twin was saying. The last part had struck a hard on him especially knowing that Liz had more or less heard something similar or along those lines when she was back in Roswell with the dipstick king Max Evans. Alec sigh and stayed silent for another moment before asking, "How do you know this?"

Ben shot a 'give-me-a-break' glare at him, "You don't think I haven't known where Maxie has been the entire time we were out there? She was the only one out of our unit that I made sure as hell that I found, only when I found her letting her know I was around wasn't exactly a good idea. –Max Guevara is to me what Liz is to you. And all I am to her is the big brother that held her at night when she had seizures and told her stories of the Blue Lady. Max is the exact opposite of Liz. Liz would become a transgenic for you if it meant she was deserving of you. Max would love for nothing more than to be an ordinary so that her little geek-boy boyfriend wouldn't have to fear her becoming a killer one day…so she wouldn't have to fear becoming a killer one day."

Ben leaned his hip against the window sill and let out a self deprecating laugh, "You've got a girl that lets the man in you take over more often than the transgenic DNA, but she doesn't care if she's talking or loving the man or the DNA that brings out your soldier. I've got a girl who looked at our CO with pity in her eyes because he loves her and she doesn't see him as anything more than a brother," Ben paused for a moment before looking at Alec, "Can you imagine how she would receive my feelings for her?"

Alec seemed to realize something and whispered, "Max is…or was the alpha female of the unit."

Ben nodded sadly, "Yeah, and she was completely oblivious to the fact. She was the youngest female so I guess it never even entered her mind. I asked her about it once and she just looked at me like I had spent too much time in solitary or something. But Zack could sense it, hell every one of us be her seemed to realize it. And because she was so oblivious he was always more protective of her…then along the way he fell in love with her."

He gave a sarcastic laugh, "It's like the whole 'captain of the football team dates the head cheerleader.' –Never, does the head cheerleader even acknowledge the schools good looking but intensely smart mechanic."

Alec sighed and rested his head in his hands, "So you're in love with the alpha female that turned down the alpha male for an ordinary and I'm in love with a semi-ordinary that could care less that I'm the alpha male and yet feels threatened by it because of the alpha females that do care…fan-fucking-tastic."

Ben nodded slowly, "Now you just have to figure out what to do about it."

Alec raised an eyebrow, "And you?"

Ben sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "I have to figure out a way of protecting you, Liz, Claudia and the baby from Max. She's going to wonder why she saw two of me; she'll investigate and if her nerd-tech-wannabe-superhero-boyfriend finds out Liz is pregnant by a transgenic…"

Alec's eyes hardened, "She'll want to take the baby from us and away from Manticore."

Ben nodded and then he and Alec looked up at Lydecker and Sandaman, who sighed when they realized the gravity of the situation.

Alec shook his head slightly, he would have laughed at the fact that his 'fathers-in-law' had been standing there the entire time if the feeling in the room hadn't dropped from 'Whoo-hoo, Alec, gets to beat up his brother' to 'Anyone lays a hand on my wife or kid won't live to see the next day' far too quickly for his liking.

Lydecker scrubbed his face with his hand, "Well we have our work set out for ourselves. Max has always hated Manticore. She won't be persuaded easily or even or most likely at all."

Sandaman nodded gravely, "Ben, we'll deal with the consequences of your actions at a later date, for now we need you two working together…can you two manage that?"

Ben and Alec looked at one another for a moment before nodding and speaking at the same time, "Yeah."

Sandaman nodded, "Good. Now you, young man, have a fine mess to fix. She is currently in the basement with Joshua and Isaac crying her eyes out. –And I assume you want to have your own dealings with 632?"

Alec nodded, "And the others who have an issue with our mating."

Sandaman nodded, "Fine, but Alec, don't do anything stupid."

Alec nodded at his 'fathers-in-law', "Yes, Sir."

Then Ben raised his hand slowly with bugged out eyes, "I'm sorry, but did you just say Liz was down in the basement with the nomalies?"

Alec chuckled at that and patted his twin on the back, "You've got a lot to learn…little brother."

Ben glared at him as Lydecker laughed, "Actually, Alec, Ben had it right. He is exactly two minutes older than you."

Alec glowered as Ben smirked smugly at his little brother.

"Whatever," Alec grumbled, "I'm going to find my 'wife' and fix my 'marriage' hopefully before my kid is born and I can finally propose, because I highly doubt she is going to want her wedding pictures to show her pregnant stomach. Fill him in will you?"

The three men smiled as they watched the alpha male of all the Manticore units go off in search of his 'wife'.

Ben had a slight frown on his face and raised an eyebrow at the two older men he had once feared and still did somewhat, "Do you think he has any idea that he is THAT alpha male?"

Lydecker smirked, "Probably not. –And I'm thinking the females should watch out. He's head alpha and she puts him in his place. I don't think they've realized just how equally matched she is for him. –All the others are too submissive for him."

Ben let a small smile grow on his face at that, "Yeah, she sure doesn't take any shit from anyone. –This is sure going to be interesting to say the least."

Lydecker patted Ben on the shoulder, "Why don't you go take a shower and get cleaned up and then we'll fill you in on everything."

Ben looked at the two men in shock, "No guards? No 'tour guides'?"

Lydecker smiled sadly, "No, Ben. You're free to roam the facility on your own. You just can't leave the grounds."

Ben nodded, still in disbelief and followed Sandaman's directions to the showers and some clean clothes.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Liz sniffed and brushed the tears from her face as best as she could from her position between Joshua and Isaac.

"Damn hormones," she muttered to herself mostly.

"Hormones make little tough guy cry?" Isaac asked in confusion.

Liz let out a small laugh, "Yeah, tough guy. I'm pregnant and the pregnancy changes my hormones and the changes make my emotions all over the place and crazy."

"Little guy and medium guy going to have baby guy?" Joshua asked happily

Liz smiled at him, "Yeah, Alec and I are going to have a baby."

Isaac was still confused, "What make little tough guy cry?"

Liz sniffled again and felt herself well up with more tears, "Alec and I had a fight."

Isaac tensed next to her causing her to look at him in confusion. "Alec hurt little tough guy?" Isaac practically demanded.

Liz's eyes widened when she realized how Isaac and probably Joshua had taken her statement. She shook her head vigorously, "NO! Alec would never physically hurt me! –"

A voice from the doorway of Isaac's 'room' interrupted her, "I would never intentionally hurt her. But I did. I hurt her feelings and I _am_ sorry."

Liz, Joshua and Isaac turned to see his Alec standing there with a pleading look in his eyes.

She could tell that he was sorry from the look in his eyes and on his face, but he had hurt her deeply.

Isaac growled at Alec and appeared to be moving toward him in a menacing manner.

Liz watched as Alec tensed but made no other threatening actions toward Isaac. "Isaac! Stop! It's okay. Alec and I need to talk. And like I said he would never physically hurt me."

Isaac didn't attack Alec but he kept growling and glaring at him.

Liz could tell that Joshua wanted to do much of the same thing but appeared to be keeping a watchful eye moving between Alec and Isaac.

Alec didn't relax any but focused his gaze on her once again, "Liz can we talk?—Alone."

Liz noticed the hurt look that appeared in Alec's eyes when she hesitated before nodding her consent. She looked over at Joshua, "We're going to go into your 'room', okay?"

Joshua nodded but never removed his gaze from Alec and Isaac.



XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Liz walked into Joshua's 'room' with Alec following behind her. They were both completely silent. She didn't want to say anything first. He had been the one who wanted to talk.

Alec sighed and ran his hand threw his hair as he looked down at the cement floor beneath them, "I'm sorry, Liz."

Liz looked away from him and at the equally dark, dank cement wall, "Alec…"

He sighed as she trailed off, "I know. I messed up.—Look, Liz, I know you're not weak. I know that you are a strong person and I know that you are 100 aware of what transgenics are capable of…but that doesn't stop me from worrying about you."

Liz rolled her eyes and then glared at him, "Alec, you don't have to worry about me all the time. I do have transgenics that like me and they help me deal with the transgenics that don't."

Alec sighed and rubbed his face with one of his hands in frustration before turning his gaze to her. He looked exasperated, tired, frustrated and annoyed all at the same time. She wasn't really sure what to expect from him at this point. She knew he would never hurt her; she hadn't been lying when she told that to Joshua and Isaac, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't be in for another fight.

"Liz, I'm your mate, and when I'm not here to personally make sure that you are safe and that nothing happens to you, whether it's another transgenic or a friggin cold that has you in bed for a week, I am going to worry about you, even more so now that you're pregnant. It's the way I am Liz. And I'm sorry if you don't like it, but I'm not going to apologize for being concerned about you."

Liz sighed in annoyance, "Alec, I'm not saying that I don't want you to be concerned about me, I'd be more worried if you weren't concerned about me…but Alec…you don't have to treat me like I am a china doll that is going to break at any second. Yes, I will admit that the whole situation with X5-623 was on the more extreme end of the spectrum…but I am still okay. I am fine and I am alive. No, I didn't come out of the altercation unscathed, but there were no lasting effects."

Alec was silent for a moment as he thought about what she said. After a little while Liz was almost ready to still be having a fight when they went to bed.

"Liz, it's not that you got hurt or that I think that you are incapable of taking care of yourself," he said as he moved his eyes back to hers, "I know you got yourself right to the doctors and had everything checked out…that's just how you are. And I get that the reason you didn't tell me what happened was because you were worried that it would interfere with my mission. –But Liz, I didn't know you were hurt for at least three weeks. I would have rather been told that something happened, told that you were okay, and that I could have come to check on you while I came back for some recon."

Liz stayed silent as she watched him.



Alec walked over to her so that he was about a foot away from her, "Liz I need you to trust that I can do my job even when I know something has happened. I've been doing this for a while. If I had known of this earlier I could have been here for you when it was worse. I don't want to feel like I'm being left out of your life, Liz. And not knowing when you're hurt or when something is wrong…then I feel like I'm being left out of your life."

Liz looked down at her hands for a moment before looking back up at him with tears in her eyes, "I know what you're saying Alec. And I'm sorry for not telling you about 632 sooner…but you can't through the fact that I am human in my face every time I do something that you don't like."

Alec nodded his head, "Yeah, I know. It's not fair to you. You're not the same person I am and I know you're not going to use your powers to hurt anyone…I just wish that you would use them to defend yourself, especially against a hostile transgenic."

Liz sighed, "Alec, I am one of the lab technicians. It's not appropriate for me to use my powers against any of the transgenics."

Alec rolled his eyes, "Liz, I'm not saying use your powers to get them to do what you want. But if you have a transgenic that is out to hurt you to get a point across, like 632, then all I want you to do is use a small dosage of your defensive powers so that you're able to come out of the situation as unscathed as possible. Whether it be a small blast or even just putting up some kind of shield or something…do you have one of those?"

Liz couldn't help but smile at that, he actually looked like a kid in a candy store at the possibility of her having a shield of some kind. "I don't know. Max had one, I guess if I tried hard enough I could probably find one, especially since I seem to have a bit of all of their powers."

She couldn't help but laugh some more when he scowled deeply and began muttering.

"Great if you get a freakin' shield then I get to thank the dick head alien king for it."

Liz couldn't stop giggling at his complaints. She knew that he was both happy and annoyed at the fact that she had powers. He like her powers because he just thought it was cool to have a girlfriend that was different like that, however, what he didn't like was the fact that her powers came courtesy of an ex-boyfriend that he wanted to kill half of the time.

She watched as he smiled gently at her and pulled her closer by wrapping his arms around her waist, "Lizzie…you mean everything to me and our baby will mean everything to me. I don't care that you are part human, and yes dear you are _part_ human. You are not an ordinary in any sense of the word. I just want to make sure that you're okay and that you don't feel like you have to leave me out of your life just to keep me safe. –Not sharing Intel could get a member of my unit killed on a mission. I don't want to lose the two new additions to my unit, okay?"

Liz rigidly nodded her head in understanding as she tried her hardest to keep her tears and emotions at bay. She smiled at him when he pulled her closely and whispered, "I love you, Alec."



Alec smiled at her and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear, "I know you're having morning sickness…is it alright to kiss you?"

She playfully narrowed his eyes at his teasing. She knew that she had to work on her own insecurities about being less of an equal to him compared to the female transgenics. "You better kiss me mister, or you are so sleeping on the couch for your entire stay before you have to head out back to your mission again."

Alec smiled in amusement, "Yes, ma'am," and then he leaned in and pull his mated into a passionate kiss. He knew that he had to work at riding her of her insecurities and he would be damned if she didn't get those kind of thoughts out of her head completely in the near future.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ben sighed as he let the hot water run down his body. It had been a long time since he'd had a decent hot shower. The feeling of his muscles relaxing was a wonderful thing. It was amazing to him that this of all places was the one place that he was beginning to relax and feel like himself again.

It hadn't been that hard to find the showers. Granted it was a different facility than the one that he and his siblings had grown up in, but it was more or less set up the same way.

He stiffened all of the sudden when he felt another transgenic enter the showers. He quickly grabbed the towel next to him when his sense of smell picked up that the new occupant was female. When he turned around his eyes met with eyes that were familiar to him in some way. She had brunette hair and skin that reminded him of Maxie's…tan all year round.

She smiled at him gently and he noticed that tears seemed to be forming in her eyes, "You're back," she whispered.

He stayed silent and just watched her as she moved further into the showers.

She smiled at him in amusement, "I think that towel would be a lot more successful if you turned the water off, big brother."

He flushed a little before he turned the water off before he paused and took in everything she had just said. She had called him big brother. He knew she wasn't Claudia…he fully expected that sister to kick his ass…plus Claudia was a blonde. That could only mean that she was a member of his childhood unit.

He brought his eyes back up to her and just looked at her intensely. Trying to determine which sister she was. Maxie was still on the outside. Eva had been killed. She was too young to be Syl, Jondy or Tinga.

"Brin?"

She smiled at him widely, "I wondered how long it was going to take you to go through our list of sisters there Benny Boy."



He gave her a small smile. She was still Brin…but something seemed…off…about her. It was almost as if she was still discovering who she was…or who she had been…

"When did they put you through psyops and reindoctrinization?"

She smiled sadly at him, "I don't know the exact date or how long I've been like this. From what memories are coming back to me, I was sick and I was going to die. Max had no choice but to bring me here, or to Mantacore really."

He nodded but stayed silent. He wasn't really sure what to say to her. On one hand she was one of his closest sisters and they had talked as much as they could when they were younger. She was only a few months older than Maxie, so she had clung to him much like Maxie had done during her seizures. But on the other hand if she knew what he had done…maybe she wouldn't want to be his sister anymore.

He just looked at her with a feeling of reservation he had a feeling she could see right through even without all of her memories completely intact.

She smiled at him gently, "I know what's been going on with you, Ben. I don't hate you and I'm not going to stop loving my big brother just because living in the outside world was more than you, than any of us, were ready for."

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked after a few more moments of silence…though oddly enough not an awkward silence.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion, "In the showers or the one that all the rumors were about?"

He shrugged and muttered, "Both."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Well, I knew it was you in the showers, one because of your barcode and two…because you're Ben, there would never **not** be a time that I didn't know who you were. You were the only brother I had that actually took the time to find out why I cried at night instead of just telling me to shut up because we all had drills in the morning."

Ben's eyes rolled at that a little bit, "Zach always could be a bit of an ass."

She gave a slight laugh at that one before shrugging and continuing on, "And I knew you were the one that the rumors were about because they tried to keep me away from 494."

He must have looked at her in confusion, because she shrugged, "When I first saw him I just stood there and stared at him. He looked so familiar but not. And then later on that same night I cried myself to sleep and asking for this Ben character that I couldn't remember. They finally realized that it was Alec's nearly identical face that was causing my memories to come back. After a while they eventually had me everywhere but with the 'twins' of all of our brothers and sisters."

He nodded quietly.



He stayed silent not really knowing what to say to her. On one hand he really wanted to ask for her help when it came to protecting his future niece or nephew from Maxie, but he knew that Brin had been quite close to Max when they were younger. He wasn't sure if she would feel odd about such a request.

He was so lost him his thoughts that he didn't even realize that she had moved closer to him. He jumped when she put a hand on his arm. Looking at her he noticed that she was looking up at him in concern, "What's wrong, Ben?"

He stayed silent just looking into her eyes. He really wanted to trust her; to have someone from his younger years around to understand him. He was happy that Liz seemed to be on his side, but as much as she tried to tell him that she understood…she hadn't been there and through everything that his unit had been put through…Brin had been. She had been through it all right by his and Maxie's side. And seeing how she had only been a couple of months older than Maxie she had been and still was someone that brought out his protective instincts.

She was his little sister.

"I need your help," was all he said to her.

She looked at him with wide eyes. He could see the desire to help him but also the fear of what he would ask her to do.

Taking a deep breath he prepared himself for her rejection of the idea, "Maxie saw Alec and Liz take me back to Manticore…and Liz is pregnant."

He watched her eyes widen even further…if that was possible…as the weight of what he was saying obviously dawned on her.

"Do you really think she would try and take Liz's baby?" she whispered.

"Maxie hated this place more than any of us…even Zack. She may not know about the baby yet…" he trailed off quietly.

Brin let go of his arm and began pacing in front of him, "I'll think you start getting dressed," she practically ordered him as she waved her hand back at him.

He smirked and shook his head in amusement before walking over to the clean fatigues that he had gotten earlier. He looked over at his sister before he began dressing himself, happy that she was too far lost in thought to be paying attention to him, thus he would cause her to be scarred for life.

Once he was dressed he walked back over to her and sat down on one of the stone benches near her as she continued to pace.

"What are we going to do, Ben? That baby might as well be a part of our family! Biologically he is your brother and you're my brother, by association that baby could be my niece or nephew!" Brin practically flipped out as she turned toward him and flung her hands into the air.



He couldn't help the small smile that grew on his face, she was still as animated as she had ever been that was for sure, "Why do you come to Lydecker's office with me? He and Sandaman are supposed to be filling me in on what the hell I've missed and get me up to date on the whole Alec, Liz and baby situation I guess."

Brin nodded and then practically dragged him out of the showers yelling over her shoulder, "Well don't just stand there soldier! We've got work to do!"


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

She watched as the three moved in the streets. This couldn't be possible. Why was two of Ben walking around? And who was that girl walking with them?

"Oh Ben, please don't tell me you've involved an ordinary?" she sighed as she took one last look at the three before Ben and the Ben look alike blurred off with the bruised, unknown female.

She had planned on following them but with the two of them blurring together, they were moving too fast for her to follow. She sighed in both annoyance and confusion.

What had Manticore done to Ben when they were younger for there to be two of him walking around? She thought to herself as she began looking around the area trying to see if there was anything she could connect to Ben or the mystery woman that would help her figure out what was going on.

They must have cloned him…that was the only explanation…she had never heard of a Manticorian twin…and she knew it wasn't below them to clone one of their soldiers.

Sighing in frustration when she found nothing she made her way back towards Logan's. She was really going to need help on this one. First she had to figure out who the mystery woman was and if she was an ordinary how to release her from the clutches of Manticore…and possibly Ben if need be.

This was definitely not the kind hearted brother that she remembered. She had seen them walking together, before the Ben-alike had appeared, and it was obvious to any transgenic that Ben had had a gun to her back to get her to cooperate.

It was killing her inside to know that the Ben she had loved when she was a child was obviously no more. He had given into to something that had turned him into a Manticorian monster that she fought so hard against…

NO!

She had to stop that line of thought…she didn't have all of the facts at the moment. Maybe that woman was from Manticore and Ben had just been defending himself. Maybe Ben and Ben-alike were working together or something.

She wasn't ready to think the worst of her brother yet. She would tell Logan the basics and protect her brother as much as possible…she would protect him as he had her so many years ago. But at the moment her first priority was finding out whether or not the mystery woman was in any danger from Ben, the Ben-alike, or Manticore.

3 hours later…

"Max…you're not going to like this…" Logan trailed off as he held out the file he had found on the mystery woman.

Max steeled herself for the worst as she took the file from him. She felt her breath stop in her lungs…Elizabeth Parker…near genius…three degrees in microbiology…newest Manticore employee…pregnant.

"Shit," Max sighed as she read the last part. She looked up at Logan, "Were you able to find out who the father is?"

Logan seemed to hesitate before he pressed a key on the keyboard and up popped a picture of Ben…but not.

"X5-494…Ben," Logan said quietly.

Max stared at the picture in disbelief. She could finally see the differences that were in 494 that weren't present in her brother. She shook her head negatively.

"Max…I know you don't want Ben to be involved in all of this, but there are some things that you…" Logan began. But she quickly cut him off.

She shook her head again and looked Logan in the eye, "No, Ben isn't the father of her baby. Ben's designation is 493 not 494."

Logan's eyebrows rose in surprise and they both turned back to the computer. Max leaned over and scrolled down onto the general information that Logan had somehow found. It looked like real Manticore documentation…but who would he have gotten it from?

Her eyebrows rose as she took in 494's training, "Wow, this is definitely not Ben," she said softly.

Logan frowned, "Besides the designation, how can you tell?"

Max pointed to a portion of the screen, "494 is a CO…Ben was SIC. But more importantly Ben was trained in retrieval. Data, technology, weapons, prisoners, wounded…that kind of thing…494 was trained in…damn near everything. He's the picture perfect Manticore soldier except for this one stint in pschyops recently, but even then it only lasted a week. Most trips to pschyops lasts about three months."

"What does training one soldier in everything get them?" Logan asked in confusion.

Max sighed. After looking at 494's 'transcripts' she knew that getting Elizabeth Parker away from him and Manticore was going to be harder than anticipated, "It means that he's a Master in hand to hand combat, weaponry, and everything else under the sun. It makes him the perfect soldier…the perfect assassin."

"Assassin?" Logan asked in surprise.

Max sighed and nodded, "From what I knew of who got trained to be assassins…they only trained the few that would excel in everything. Apparently they found a way to detect things like that in the transgenics DNA. But more importantly they made him to excel in that fashion. While he definitely is Ben's…twin…for lack of a better term…494 has more genetic emphasis on being the alpha male. He isn't just part cat…he's the King of the Jungle."

Logan looked completely shocked, "You mean like Lion, King of the Jungle, kind of cat?"

Max nodded and pointed to some more bit of info on the screen, "Ben was definitely made from Lion as well…but I'm thinking more of the runner up King of the Jungle. 494…he got the big mojo. Lion, Shark, but more specifically Great White; while Ben got the same thing Lion, Shark and so forth, 494 got the cream of the crop of it all. Manticore created 494 specifically for some reason. I just don't know why."

Logan was silent for a moment as he digested the information he had just been given, "If 494 is the best of everything, which made him the best soldier…wouldn't it make sense that he would lead the other transgenics into war?"

Max slowly turned her head to look at Logan and softly asked, "But a war for what and with who?"


End file.
